Jefferies likes Cisco’s pending acquisition of Splunk

After Cisco (CSCO) announced its intention to acquire Splunk (SPLK) for $157 per share in cash, Jefferies said the firm likes the deal as “strategically, it’s important to have data.” By using Splunk to extract and analyze more data from all the components within networks and data centers, including all of the Cisco portfolio, Cisco customers can better operate, optimize, and secure their networks, argues the firm, which adds that the strategic nature of the deal, the ability to accelerate Cisco’s growth rate, and the ability to further the transition to recurring revenue models “make this deal worthwhile.” Jefferies keeps a Buy rating on Cisco shares with a $59.50 price target.