Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) Stock Rating Upgraded by Guggenheim

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) was upgraded by equities researchers at Guggenheim from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $128.00 price target on the technology infrastructure company’s stock. Guggenheim’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 30.77% from the company’s previous close.

AKAM has been the subject of several other reports. 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Akamai Technologies in a report on Friday, May 17th. Craig Hallum cut their target price on Akamai Technologies from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Akamai Technologies from $140.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Akamai Technologies from $130.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.44.

Akamai Technologies Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AKAM opened at $97.88 on Monday. Akamai Technologies has a 1 year low of $87.59 and a 1 year high of $129.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 3.25 and a quick ratio of 3.25. The business’s 50-day moving average is $92.18 and its 200-day moving average is $103.33. The company has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Akamai Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology infrastructure company to purchase up to 13.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Akamai Technologies

In other Akamai Technologies news, CTO Robert Blumofe sold 3,000 shares of Akamai Technologies 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 sale, the chief technology officer now owns 24,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,184,559.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Akamai Technologies news, CTO Robert Blumofe sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.34, for a total transaction of $265,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 24,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,184,559.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO F Thomson Leighton bought 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $92.68 per share, for a total transaction of $2,038,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,342,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $217,114,114.28. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,000 shares of company stock worth $826,460. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akamai Technologies

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its stake in shares of Akamai Technologies by 37.2% during the 2nd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 12,877 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 3,490 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Akamai Technologies during the second quarter valued at about $574,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 2.4% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 20,317 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $1,830,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Akamai Technologies by 26.2% in the second quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,804 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Akamai Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 94.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.