Peter Thiel is taking chips off the tablejust not in the way you'd expect. The Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) co-founder has pledged over $1.2 billion worth of shares, or roughly 10% of his stake, as collateral for personal debt. It's the first time this appears in Palantir's proxy filingsand it comes after a blockbuster 2024, when Thiel sold about one-third of his PLTR holdings for $1.5 billion pre-tax. He's not alone. A wave of insider selling has followed Palantir's near-60% rally since Trump's inauguration, with even President Stephen Cohen offloading over $337 million worth of shares in Q1.

Palantir's internal policy technically bars execs from pledging shares, but directors and the CEO get a pass. Thiel, no longer an officer, and board member Alexander Moorewho pledged 1 million sharesseem to fit the exception. The move echoes what we've seen from other tech billionaires. Elon Musk, for example, has pledged over half of his Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares. These kinds of collateral-backed plays aren't new, but they're a clear signal: when billionaires start borrowing against their stock, they're not just holdingthey're hedging.

Palantir may be outperforming the S&P 500 (SPY), but the sell signals are starting to pile up. When founders and insiders race for the exits after a rally, it's rarely by accident. The company still has momentum, sure. But if you're buying here, just know: the people who built it are already cashing in.