Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) Given New $100.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $92.00 to $100.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector perform” rating on the technology infrastructure company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 1.49% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on AKAM. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Akamai Technologies from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Akamai Technologies in a report on Monday, July 8th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Akamai Technologies from $114.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Akamai Technologies from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Akamai Technologies from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.00.

Akamai Technologies Stock Up 10.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AKAM traded up $9.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $101.51. The stock had a trading volume of 6,536,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,703,274. The company has a market cap of $15.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 0.67. Akamai Technologies has a 12 month low of $87.59 and a 12 month high of $129.17. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.04. 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 (NASDAQ:AKAM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The technology infrastructure company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.05. Akamai Technologies had a net margin of 16.12% and a return on equity of 15.02%. The company had revenue of $979.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. Akamai Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Akamai Technologies will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Akamai Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 9th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology infrastructure company to repurchase up to 13.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Akamai Technologies

In other Akamai Technologies news, CEO F Thomson Leighton purchased 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $92.68 per share, for a total transaction of $2,038,960.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,342,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $217,114,114.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CTO Robert Blumofe sold 3,000 shares of Akamai Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.34, for a total transaction of $265,020.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 24,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,184,559.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO F Thomson Leighton acquired 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $92.68 per share, with a total value of $2,038,960.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,342,621 shares in the company, valued at $217,114,114.28. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,000 shares of company stock worth $826,460 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Akamai Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akamai Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $230,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akamai Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $238,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akamai Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $41,880,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Akamai Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Akamai Technologies by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,174 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.28% of the company’s stock.

About Akamai Technologies

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.