Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) Cut to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Sunday.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Akamai Technologies from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Akamai Technologies in a research report on Friday, June 6th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $63.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Akamai Technologies from $107.00 to $105.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $88.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Akamai Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Akamai Technologies from $102.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Akamai Technologies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $101.25.

Akamai Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AKAM traded up $1.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $80.06. 331,054 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,067,812. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $78.09 and a 200-day moving average of $82.97. Akamai Technologies has a one year low of $67.51 and a one year high of $106.80. The firm has a market cap of $11.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.96, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The technology infrastructure company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.12. Akamai Technologies had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 11.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Akamai Technologies will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Adam Karon sold 3,927 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.02, for a total value of $333,873.54. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 10,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $918,981.18. The trade was a 26.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Paul C. Joseph sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.74, for a total value of $388,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 32,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,514,811.26. This trade represents a 13.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,084 shares of company stock valued at $1,726,847. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akamai Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Akamai Technologies by 10.5% in the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 4,529 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Akamai Technologies by 24.6% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 28,236 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $2,252,000 after purchasing an additional 5,575 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 1,663.2% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,027,175 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock worth $81,927,000 after buying an additional 968,919 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Akamai Technologies by 19.1% in the second quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,044 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Akamai Technologies by 8.2% in the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 17,899 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock worth $1,428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,351 shares during the period. 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.