Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on Akamai Technologies with a "sell" rating and a price target of $67.00, indicating a potential downside of 6.91% from its previous close.
• In its latest quarterly earnings, Akamai reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.73, surpassing estimates of $1.55, with revenue increasing by 6.5% year-over-year.
• Current analyst ratings for Akamai aggregate to an average of "Hold" with a target price of approximately $94.89.

Equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set a "sell" rating and a $67.00 price target on the technology infrastructure company's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's target price indicates a potential downside of 6.91% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on AKAM. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Akamai Technologies in a research note on Friday, June 6th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $63.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Akamai Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Akamai Technologies from $110.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Akamai Technologies from $88.00 to $83.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Akamai Technologies from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.89.

Akamai Technologies Price Performance

AKAM stock opened at $71.97 on Wednesday. Akamai Technologies has a 1 year low of $67.51 and a 1 year high of $106.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The business's 50-day moving average is $77.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.13.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The technology infrastructure company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.18. Akamai Technologies had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.58 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Akamai Technologies will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Paul C. Joseph sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.74, for a total value of $388,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 32,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,514,811.26. The trade was a 13.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kim Salem-Jackson sold 13,157 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.33, for a total value of $1,004,273.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,326,079.75. This trade represents a 23.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akamai Technologies

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Akamai Technologies in the first quarter valued at $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 50.8% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 395 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 54.8% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 438 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 99.6% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 469 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 198.1% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 474 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. 94.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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