Shares of Splunk Inc.
SPLK,
+3.12%
are up more than 3% in Wednesday afternoon trading after UBS analyst Karl Keirstead upgraded the software stock to buy from neutral. Keirstead is upbeat about the company following conversations with industry partners and customers, with a "stable" tone "namely about competition, the potential for upside in security-related demand and good Splunk Cloud traction," he wrote. "Importantly, this is against a backdrop of continued mixed/cautious Street sentiment, making the stock set-up attractive in our view." While there's some concern on Wall Street that Splunk could be displaced by competitors, Keirstead found that risk to be "exaggerated" based on his industry checks. He raised his price target to $175 from $137 on Splunk's stock, which has gained 28% over the past three months as the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.16%
has risen 7%.