Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) Lifted to Hold at HSBC

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) was upgraded by analysts at HSBC from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $96.00 price target on the technology infrastructure company’s stock. HSBC’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 0.38% from the stock’s current price.

AKAM has been the subject of several other reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Akamai Technologies from $114.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Akamai Technologies from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Akamai Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 17th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Akamai Technologies from $138.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on Akamai Technologies from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.65.

Akamai Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Akamai Technologies stock opened at $96.37 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.25, a current ratio of 3.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Akamai Technologies has a twelve month low of $87.59 and a twelve month high of $129.17. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $92.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.91. The firm has a market cap of $14.68 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.67.

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

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

Insider Activity at Akamai Technologies

In other Akamai Technologies news, EVP Anthony P. Williams sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.58, for a total transaction of $467,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,998.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CTO Robert Blumofe sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.34, for a total value of $265,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 24,729 shares in the company, valued at $2,184,559.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $467,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 over the last quarter. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akamai Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 34,816 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $4,120,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,622 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 700 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 711 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 16,625 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $1,968,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.28% of the company’s stock.

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.