When the going gets tough, the tough call their brokers.
This might not be the best time to talk about retail therapy, given the current goings-on in the market.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq is currently in correction territory, where an index falls at least 10% from a recent high, and the benchmark S&P 500 went into correction on March 13 before recovering.
Meanwhile, global investors are exiting U.S. stocks at a record pace amid the uncertainty tied to President Donald Trump’s tariff and budget-cutting policies and the prospect of a trade war among the world’s biggest economies.
Related: Veteran fund manager goes shopping, buys 5 stocks after big drops
Bank of America’s Fund Managers Survey, which polls investors controlling around $477 billion in global assets, showed the biggest decline on record in holdings of U.S. stocks, to a net 23% underweight position, and the lowest overall allocation in at least two years.
Palantir CEO Alex Karp said he planned to sell company stock
Veteran trader buys on weakness
“Nobody can predict with any degree of certainty whether a correction will reverse or turn into a bear market (that is, periods when the market is down by 20% or more),” Mark Riepe, head of the Schwab Center for Financial Research, wrote on March 14.
“If it’s any consolation, historically most corrections haven’t become bear markets,” he said. “There have been 27 market corrections since November 1974 — including the current one — and only six of them became bear markets.”
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Riepe said the average bear market has lasted roughly 14 months, far shorter than the average bull market. And they often end as abruptly as they began, with a quick rebound that is very difficult to predict.
“That’s why long-term investors are usually better off staying the course and not pulling money out of the market, as long as their situation hasn’t changed,” he said.
The Wall Street veteran Stephen Guilfoyle recently made some moves, adding to some of his favorite names on weakness.
He said in his recent TheStreet Pro column that he picked up shares of big-data company Palantir (PLTR) with a $75 handle, aerospace group Rocket Lab (RKLB) with a $16 handle, and fintech SoFi (SOFI) in the low $11s.
Shares of all three were down at last check, along with the rest of the stock market, but they were still above Guilfoyle’s purchase price.
“This is not to brag,” said Guilfoyle, whose career dates back to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the 1980s. “No, it most certainly is not. I have large, long positions in all three. I made some sales in all three when they were still much closer to their highs. That said, all three have had their tails handed to them since those heady days.”
Oh, you can say that again.
Analyst impressed with Palantir
Palantir’s shares were whacked on news of the U.S. Defense Department’s proposed $50 billion budget cuts, as well as CEO Alex Karp’s stock-sale plan and the broad-market correction.
Rocket Lab lost ground due to a disappointing first-quarter revenue forecast and the delay of the launch of its Neutron rocket to the second half of the year.
“We had warned of the coming volatility,” Guilfoyle said. “We were unsure of direction.”
And SoFi took a hit on recession fears, which shook bank stocks.
There is some good news.
Jefferies analysts said on March 18 that they came away from Palantir’s AI Platform customer event “impressed” with the return on investment case studies showcasing how its products are helping transform businesses.
However, this positive momentum is baked into the stock’s valuation, 45 times 2026 estimates, the most expensive stock in Jefferies’ coverage, the investment firm said.
While Palantir’s fundamentals have been strong, the stock’s valuation remains the biggest concern and insiders continue to sell shares, Jefferies said. The firm reiterated an underperform rating on the stock with a $60 price target.
Related: Analyst revamps Palantir stock price target after slump
Rocket Lab successfully launched its Electron rocket, deploying five satellites to low Earth orbit for French internet-of-things constellation operator Kineis.
The “High Five” mission was Rocket Lab’s fourth Electron launch of 2025, and 62nd Electron launch overall.
And on March 13, SoFi finalized an up to $5 billion loan platform business agreement for personal loans with funds managed by Blue Owl Capital, marking SoFi’s largest loan platform agreement to date.
Guilfoyle’s price target for Palantir is $110, down from $115. He pared his price target on Rocket Lab to $31 from $33, while his price target on SoFi comes in at $18.50, down from $20.
Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast