Tableau Software Remains Best Of Breed Leader In Data Discovery Analytics; Splunk A Category Leader In Software

Splunk Inc SPLK and Tableau Software Inc DATA may both have a central role to play in the data and cloud infrastructure business in the long-term. BTIG analyst Edward Parker has initiated both stocks with a Buy rating and says each stock brings something unique to the table for investors.

2 Strong Initiations

According to Parker, Tableau’s advantage is its data discovery analytics.

“Data analytics continues to be an area of massive untapped value creation, but the market for data discovery tools is becoming increasingly competitive and could be increasingly subject to pricing pressure,” Parker explained.

He sees several near-term catalysts ahead for the stock in 2017, including better business execution under new leadership and conservative sales growth guidance headed into the company’s May 25 analyst day. In the long term, Parker said investors should be keeping an eye on growing competition and potential pricing pressures, but for Tableau is a solid investment option for the year ahead.

Parker sees Splunk as a category leader in unlocking the value of machine-generated data. He anticipates that the next few quarters will be a critical indication of the progress of the company’s cloud transition.

“We believe the higher cloud mix should drive leverage I the model and FCF growth beyond expectations causing the stock to re-rate,” Parker noted.

He believes the company’s guidance is on the conservative side and a shift to more predictable revenue trends will likely provide support for the stock.

BTIG has an $80 target for Splunk and a $65 target for Tableau Software.