Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) Reaches New 52-Week Low - Here's What Happened

Shares of Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $67.51 and last traded at $76.35, with a volume of 3894820 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $68.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AKAM shares. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Akamai Technologies from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen cut Akamai Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Akamai Technologies from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group started coverage on Akamai Technologies in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Akamai Technologies in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $105.55.

Akamai Technologies Stock Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $83.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.50. The company has a market cap of $10.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology infrastructure company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.33). Akamai Technologies had a net margin of 12.65% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Akamai Technologies, Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Adam Karon sold 6,431 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.49, for a total value of $517,631.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 14,239 shares in the company, valued at $1,146,097.11. This trade represents a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO F Thomson Leighton bought 37,670 shares of Akamai Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $79.58 per share, for a total transaction of $2,997,778.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,929,676.36. The trade was a 37.79 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,394 shares of company stock valued at $3,019,323. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akamai Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AKAM. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in shares of Akamai Technologies by 24.6% in the first quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 37,034 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $2,980,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Akamai Technologies by 595.7% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 1,382 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Akamai Technologies by 8.7% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,085 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $651,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Akamai Technologies by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 9,108 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Akamai Technologies by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 34,504 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock worth $2,778,000 after buying an additional 1,931 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.