Splunk (NASDAQ:SPLK) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLK – Get Rating) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after StockNews.com upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $96.69, but opened at $104.53. Splunk shares last traded at $99.91, with a volume of 1,241,630 shares.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on SPLK. Mizuho upped their price target on Splunk from $110.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday. Bank of America upped their target price on Splunk from $125.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Splunk from $120.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Splunk from $113.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TheStreet raised Splunk from a “d” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $118.19.

Insider Transactions at Splunk

In other news, SVP Scott Morgan sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.04, for a total value of $202,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 115,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,711,243.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Elisa Steele sold 3,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $320,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,520,505. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Scott Morgan sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.04, for a total value of $202,080.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,711,243.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SPLK. Starboard Value LP lifted its holdings in shares of Splunk by 145.5% during the first quarter. Starboard Value LP now owns 4,583,000 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $439,418,000 after purchasing an additional 2,716,120 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management SA lifted its holdings in shares of Splunk by 37.4% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management SA now owns 6,010,196 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $576,258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635,239 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Splunk in the 4th quarter worth about $83,922,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its stake in Splunk by 11,675.2% in the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 712,163 shares of the software company’s stock worth $68,282,000 after acquiring an additional 706,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Splunk by 117.7% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,272,525 shares of the software company’s stock worth $122,010,000 after acquiring an additional 687,938 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.71% of the company’s stock.

Splunk Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $90.47 and a 200-day moving average of $90.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.84 billion, a PE ratio of -48.83 and a beta of 1.29.

Splunk (NASDAQ:SPLK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 1st. The software company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $1.41. The business had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Splunk Inc. will post -0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Splunk Company Profile

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Splunk, Inc engages in the development and marketing of cloud software solutions. Its products include Splunk cloud, Splunk light and Splunk enterprise. It also offers solutions for Information Technology operations, security, internet-of-things, application analytics, business analytics, and industries.