The contract, Aug. 27 -- The US Army awarded Palantir Technologies a contract expansion on Tuesday morning, and the market rewarded the company before the opening bell finished ringing. Shares jumped $1.53 to close at $41.67, a 3.8% gain on a day when the broader Nasdaq fell, as investors processed what the contract meant beyond its dollar figure.

valued at up to $618 million over five years - expands Palantir's work on the Army's Maven Smart System, an AI platform that processes intelligence data from drones, satellites, and ground sensors to provide battlefield commanders with real-time situational awareness. The contract was announced by the Army's Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors in a release ...