Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) shares are getting a nice bump this morning, up more than 2% in premarket trading, as investors get ready for the company's second-quarter earnings report, which drops after the closing bell. The big question: can the AI software company keep up its rapid growth and justify that hefty valuation?

The broader market is helping too, with Nasdaq futures up 0.30% and S&P 500 futures gaining 0.36%. So it's not just Palantir—the whole tech sector is feeling a bit optimistic today.

But there's a cloud on the horizon. Palantir is facing renewed scrutiny over its NHS England data-platform contract. The U.K. health service is changing how it measures the platform's impact, and that's raising fresh questions about whether it's actually working as advertised.

According to the Financial Times, NHS England plans to tweak its evaluation of the Federated Data Platform after staff raised concerns about flaws in the analysis. The changes will affect two big claims tied to the Palantir-built system: that hospitals using it delivered 110,000 additional operations and that discharge delays fell by 15%.

An NHS England official reportedly questioned the baseline used to assess the platform's performance, noting that the method could be skewed by seasonal patterns. Another official later told colleagues that the adjusted baseline would show up in the next round of published figures.

This review comes as ministers face pressure to trigger a 2027 break clause in Palantir's £330 million contract. The platform is supposed to connect separate health-service datasets and boost efficiency, but critics are questioning both its performance and Palantir's political connections.

Charles Tallack, former head of operational research and evaluation at NHS England, said the FOI findings raise serious questions about the health service's analytical culture. He stressed that NHS England must ensure its published analysis follows government guidance to maintain trust in its decisions and claims.

The discharge-delay data has already been under fire. The Financial Times found errors in an underlying dataset, and the Health Foundation's analysis showed no noticeable improvement in discharge performance at hospitals using the patient-tracking tool.

NHS England, for its part, says debate, challenge, and ongoing review are all part of its analytical practice. It's making a small change to baseline statistics for NHS organizations that have used a platform product for less than 12 months.

So, what's the analyst take? The stock carries a Buy rating with an average price target of $183.27. Recent moves include Rosenblatt maintaining a Buy with a $225.00 forecast (July 30), Citigroup lowering its forecast to $200.00 but keeping a Buy (July 24), and DA Davidson maintaining a Buy with a $175.00 target (July 17).

For ETF investors, Palantir is a big deal. It's a top holding in several funds:

• iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV): 8.36% weight
• Global X Defense Tech ETF (SHLD): 7.48% weight
• First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF (MISL): 7.75% weight

Because PLTR carries such heavy weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely force automatic buying or selling of the stock. So keep an eye on fund flows if you're watching Palantir.

As of premarket trading on Monday, Palantir shares were up 2.20% at $125.77.