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

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $114.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Akamai Technologies from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Akamai Technologies from $138.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Akamai Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Akamai Technologies from $136.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Akamai Technologies from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Anthony P. Williams sold 5,000 shares of Akamai Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.58, for a total value of $467,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $929,998.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director William Raymond Wagner sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.54, for a total transaction of $93,540.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,358,107.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Anthony P. Williams sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.58, for a total value of $467,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,938 shares in the company, valued at $929,998.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,000 shares of company stock valued at $826,460 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akamai Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cibc World Markets Corp increased its holdings in Akamai Technologies by 131.6% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 19,433 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $2,300,000 after purchasing an additional 11,044 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Akamai Technologies by 190.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 73,579 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $8,708,000 after acquiring an additional 48,236 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Akamai Technologies by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 480,908 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $56,915,000 after acquiring an additional 15,890 shares during the last quarter. TKG Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akamai Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,245,000. Finally, RWA Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akamai Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,441,000. 94.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Akamai Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AKAM opened at $90.33 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $93.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.46. The company has a quick ratio of 3.25, a current ratio of 3.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $13.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.67. Akamai Technologies has a 52-week low of $87.59 and a 52-week high of $129.17.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The technology infrastructure company reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $986.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $989.03 million. Akamai Technologies had a return on equity of 15.02% and a net margin of 16.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Akamai Technologies will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Akamai Technologies declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 9th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology infrastructure company to repurchase up to 13.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.