Splunk's Sizzling IPO, Already Touted By Analyst (SPLK)

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) was already going to be a hot initial public offering, but it has moved from hot to steaming.  The company priced 13.5 million shares at a price of $17.00 per share.  The first range was $8 to $10 per share, which then went up to $11 to $13 per share.

Splunk has a software platform which allows companies and large organizations to harness their data via real-time operational intelligence.  The company recently claimed over 3,700 customers which all pay license fees based on index capacity needs on a case by case basis.  Sales have almost quadrupled from 2010 to 2012, with the most recent annual sales at $121.0 million.

Today’s IPO comes from Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Credit Suisse, BofA/Merrill Lynch, UBS Investment Bank, Pacific Crest, and Cowen and Co.

One analyst has already added some sizzle to the mix, but the firm is not in the underwriting syndicate.  JMP Securities started coverage today with a “Market Outperform” rating.

The initial filing back in January was for up to $125 million in common stock.  At today’s offering price and not considering any overallotment shares, the offering is raising gross proceeds of $229.5 milllion.  Again, this IPO went from hot to sizzling.

JON C. OGG