Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) Short Interest Down 16.2% in March

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,590,000 shares, a decline of 16.2% from the March 15th total of 7,860,000 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Akamai Technologies Price Performance

AKAM stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $79.03. The stock had a trading volume of 341,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,926,710. Akamai Technologies has a 52-week low of $67.51 and a 52-week high of $106.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $79.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.17. The company has a market cap of $11.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.80.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). Akamai Technologies had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 12.65%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Akamai Technologies will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Akamai Technologies news, CFO Edward J. Mcgowan sold 4,652 shares of Akamai Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 owns 34,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,984,424.80. The trade was a 11.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO F Thomson Leighton purchased 37,670 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $79.58 per share, for a total transaction of $2,997,778.60. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 137,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,929,676.36. The trade was a 37.79 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,394 shares of company stock worth $2,653,043 in the last ninety days. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Akamai Technologies by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 702 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Akamai Technologies by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 19,991 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock worth $1,912,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,867 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $752,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Delta Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Akamai Technologies by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Delta Capital Management LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank increased its position in Akamai Technologies by 0.5% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 29,080 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock worth $2,341,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. 94.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AKAM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Akamai Technologies in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Akamai Technologies from $102.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Akamai Technologies from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Akamai Technologies from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Craig Hallum lowered Akamai Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $104.75.

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.