What Happened?

Shares of earth imaging satellite company Planet Labs $(PL)$ fell 3.4% in the morning session after the major indices continued to pull back, with technology stocks accounting for most of the market's largest decliners. A key reason for this trend is that much of the recent market gains were concentrated in the "AI trade," which includes these large technology and semiconductor companies. So this could also mean that some investors are locking in some gains ahead of more definitive feedback from the Fed. 

Despite the downturn, some analysts viewed this as an opportunity to own some of the "Core AI winners." Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities commented, "In our view, the tech bull cycle will be well intact for at least another 2-3 years, given the trillions being spent on AI infrastructure/software/chips/power/apps looking ahead. This remains our tech playbook and investor roadmap." Additionally, mixed earnings reports from retailers, such as Target, have added to the market's weakness. Investors are closely monitoring these reports for insights into the broader economic health and the potential impact of new tariffs on inflation.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Planet Labs? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

What Is The Market Telling Us

Planet Labs’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 63 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 1 day ago when the stock dropped 4.9% as investors took some profits off the table as markets awaited signals on future monetary policy from the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole symposium later in the week. The downturn in the market was largely attributed to a significant sell-off in megacap tech and chipmaker shares. Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices $(AMD)$, and Broadcom all saw notable drops, dragging down the VanEck Semiconductor ETF. Other major tech-related companies like Tesla, Meta Platforms, and Netflix were also under pressure. 

A key reason for this trend is that much of the recent market gains have been concentrated in the "AI trade," which includes these large technology and semiconductor companies. So this could also mean that some investors are locking in some gains ahead of more definitive feedback from the Fed.

Planet Labs is up 61.1% since the beginning of the year, and at $6.40 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $7.03 from July 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Planet Labs’s shares at the IPO in April 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $646.10.

Here at StockStory, we certainly understand the potential of thematic investing. Diverse winners from Microsoft $(MSFT)$ to Alphabet $(GOOG)$, Coca-Cola $(KO)$ to Monster Beverage $(MNST)$ could all have been identified as promising growth stories with a megatrend driving the growth. So, in that spirit, we’ve identified a relatively under-the-radar profitable growth stock benefiting from the rise of AI, available to you FREE via this link.