Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $106.55.

AKAM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Akamai Technologies in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James decreased their price target on Akamai Technologies from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Craig Hallum cut Akamai Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Akamai Technologies in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Akamai Technologies from $102.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Paul C. Joseph sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.57, for a total value of $366,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,115,633.28. This trade represents a 14.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Edward J. Mcgowan sold 4,652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.48, for a total transaction of $402,304.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,984,424.80. This trade represents a 11.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,394 shares of company stock worth $3,019,323. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akamai Technologies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Akamai Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Akamai Technologies by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,746 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in Akamai Technologies by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 188,388 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $19,018,000 after acquiring an additional 46,335 shares during the period. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Akamai Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $827,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Akamai Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $617,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.28% of the company’s stock.

Akamai Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Akamai Technologies stock opened at $73.69 on Friday. Akamai Technologies has a one year low of $73.42 and a one year high of $107.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $88.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.06. The company has a market cap of $11.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.60, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.80.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology infrastructure company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.33). The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Akamai Technologies had a net margin of 12.65% and a return on equity of 14.35%. On average, research analysts predict that Akamai Technologies will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Akamai Technologies Company Profile

Akamai Technologies, Inc provides cloud computing, security, and content delivery services in the United States and internationally. The company offers cloud solutions to keep infrastructure, websites, applications, application programming interfaces, and users safe from various cyberattacks and online threats while enhancing performance.