Tag Archives: nasdaq

Splunk ( SPLK ) and Pure Storage ( PSTG ) are positioned to deliver solid earnings this week, despite a challenging environment for spending on information technology, analysts say. Pacific Crest Securities analyst Brent Bracelin said in a research note Monday that Splunk remains the firm’s “highest-conviction growth idea that continues to deliver solid results.” And he said Pure Storage has emerged as the largest and fastest-growing provider of flash-based storage technology “that we believe remains well positioned to grow 60%-plus this year, driven by share gains in a shrinking storage market.” IBD Take: Splunk ranks No. 4 in its group. Learn why at IBD Stock Checkup . Splunk provides software for machine-to-machine data analytics that companies use to attain real-time intelligence. The consensus on Splunk is for revenue of $174.1 million for its fiscal Q1 ended on or near April 30, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters. That would be an increase of 38.5% year over year, maintaining its double-digit growth rate going back more than four years. Analysts expect a 2-cent loss per share minus items, vs. a 1-cent loss in the year-earlier quarter and an 11-cent profit in the previous quarter. Splunk is set to report after the market close Thursday. “We remain bullish on the prospects for Splunk to grow into a $1 billion-plus revenue franchise based on a differentiated software,” Bracelin wrote of the company that posted revenue of $668 million for fiscal 2016 ended Jan. 31. RBC Capital Markets analyst Matthew Hedberg has an outperform rating on Splunk stock and a price target of 60. Splunk shares were near 54, up 2%, in afternoon trading in the stock market today . The stock is 81% higher since hitting a low of 29.85 on Feb. 12. Pure Storage, meanwhile, is set to report earnings after the market close Wednesday for its fiscal Q1 ended April 30. The Wall Street consensus estimate on revenue is $138 million, up 86% year over year, following 12 quarters in a row of triple-digit gains. The bottom-line consensus is for a per-share loss minus items of 23 cents, vs. a 26-cent loss in the year-earlier quarter. Pure Storage received an upbeat review ahead of its Q1 report, with an analyst saying the flash storage market appears to be growing faster than expected. Pure Storage stock was trading near 14.75, up 1.5%, Monday afternoon. It came public in October 2015 with shares priced at 17. Other tech companies reporting this week include  Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE ) and HP Inc. ( HPQ ) Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which provides business enterprise services and cloud-enabled technologies, is projected to report revenue of $12.3 billion and EPS minus items of 42 cents. It reports after the close Tuesday. Hewlett-Packard Enterprise was trading near 16, up 1.5%. HP, which sells personal computers and printers, reports its fiscal second quarter after the close Wednesday. The consensus on revenue is $11.7 billion, with views for EPS minus items of 38 cents. HP stock was near 11.70, up a fraction.