Splunk Sputters as Morgan Stanley Sees Work Ahead By Investing.com

By Christiana Sciaudone

Investing.com —  Splunk (NASDAQ:SPLK) sputtered after Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) said there’s much work to be done.

Analyst Keith Weiss downgraded shares to equal weight from overweight, and slashed the price target to $160 from $213, according to StreetInsider.

Shares dropped about 5%.

“Challenges closing large deals, competitive noise, and a heightened level of executive departures increase the execution risk at SPLK near term,” Weiss wrote in a note.

Shares of Splunk have dropped more than 40% since mid-2020, when they hit a record as the need for tech security increased while we all worked from home. This is the second downgrade this month for the stock. KeyBanc earlier cited the resignation of the chief tech officer amid other high level departures and increased competition, among other reasons. 

The company reported its second-best quarter ever last month, beating expectations.