Deutsche Bank: No Short-Term Growth For Splunk

Splunk Inc (NASDAQ: SPLK) won't see a short-term acceleration in growth but the end-market for its data-mining products have a long way to travel before reaching maturity, an analyst said Friday.

Deutsche Bank's Karl Keirstead maintained a Buy rating on the company and boosted his target to $65 per share. "The risks seem manageable and the execution track record has been solid," Keirstead said.

San Franciso-based Splunk went public in 2012 and has yet to turn a profit. Choppy quarterly revenue and a widening loss sent shares to a low of $42 in August.

Although Splunk is off more than 20 percent year to date, analysts have generally been positive, with 16 out of 22 ratings at Buy or the equivalent.

The company disclosed Thursday that board member Graham Smith recently sold 5,000 shares, and insiders have been net sellers during the past six months according to Yahoo Finance.

Splunk closed Friday at $53.22, down more than 7 percent.