Splunk reported wider-than-expected first-quarter losses per share
The shares of Splunk Inc (NASDAQ:SPLK) are down 8.3% to trade at $113.46 at last check, after the software company reported wider-than-expected first-quarter losses per share, and revenue about in line with expectations. To follow, no fewer than 12 analysts cut their price targets, with the lowest coming from Stifel to $140.
Today's negative price action has SPLK back below the 10-day moving average, which flipped into support late May after guiding the shares to a May 11 annual low of $110.28. Year-to-date, the equity is down 33.4%.
Analysts are split on Splunk stock, with 14 of the 25 in coverage carrying a "buy" or better rating, and the remaining 11 at a tepid "hold." Meanwhile, the consensus 12-month price target of $169.26 is a lofty 48.9% premium to its current perch., which implies more price-target cuts could be on the way.
Over in the options pits, traders have been looking particularly bearish. This is per SPLK's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.42 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which stands higher than 97% of readings from the past year. This shows puts being picked up at a much faster-than-usual rate.
Today, however, there seems to have been a shift in sentiment amongst options traders. So far, 15,000 calls and 9,532 puts have crossed the tape, with overall volume running at six times the intraday average. The weekly 6/4 110-strike put is the most popular, followed by the 145-strike call in the same series.