KeyCorp Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) Stock Price

Key Points

• KeyCorp cut its Akamai price target from $195 to $175 but maintained an “overweight” rating; at the quoted share price of $77.84, its target implies 124.8% upside.
• Akamai’s shares were down 9.4%, with weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter guidance weighing on sentiment despite the company beating third-quarter EPS estimates.
• Third-quarter EPS was $1.77 versus $1.67 expected, and revenue rose 6.4% year over year to $1.12 billion. Analysts’ average rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $145.95.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at KeyCorp from $195.00 to $175.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the technology infrastructure company's stock. KeyCorp's target price would indicate a potential upside of 124.82% from the company's current price.

AKAM has been the subject of several other reports. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Akamai Technologies from $140.00 to $90.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. HSBC downgraded Akamai Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $171.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered Akamai Technologies from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Akamai Technologies from $158.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Akamai Technologies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $145.95.

Akamai Technologies Trading Down 9.4%

NASDAQ AKAM opened at $77.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $11.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.65. Akamai Technologies has a one year low of $71.93 and a one year high of $165.45. The firm's fifty day moving average is $102.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.27.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The technology infrastructure company reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.10. Akamai Technologies had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 11.32%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.86 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Akamai Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.470-6.680 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.500-1.700 EPS. Analysts expect that Akamai Technologies will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Akamai Technologies news, EVP Kim Salem-Jackson sold 2,013 shares of Akamai Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.00, for a total value of $257,664.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 57,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,321,216. The trade was a 3.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Mani Sundaram sold 7,022 shares of Akamai Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.62, for a total value of $882,103.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,837,192.50. This represents a 32.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 12,135 shares of company stock valued at $1,467,221 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Akamai Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Akamai Technologies by 503.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 42,831 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock worth $4,919,000 after purchasing an additional 35,735 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Akamai Technologies by 1,716.7% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,610 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock worth $3,855,000 after buying an additional 30,815 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Akamai Technologies by 59.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 40,593 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock worth $4,662,000 after buying an additional 15,091 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Akamai Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,250,000. Finally, ABN AMRO Bank N.V. acquired a new position in shares of Akamai Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,737,000. 94.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Akamai Technologies

Here are the key news stories impacting Akamai Technologies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter EPS of $1.77 beat the $1.67 consensus, while revenue of $1.12 billion was roughly in line and rose 6.4% year over year. Full-year 2026 EPS guidance of $6.47–$6.68 is above the $6.03 consensus. Akamai Q3 earnings and revenues surpass estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Susquehanna lowered its price target substantially, from $140 to $90, but maintained a positive rating; the new target remains above the quoted share price. Susquehanna stock recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: Fourth-quarter guidance disappointed: Akamai forecast EPS of $1.50–$1.70 versus a $1.63 consensus and revenue of $1.1–$1.2 billion versus $1.2 billion expected. The weak outlook is the main pressure on the shares despite the Q3 beat. Akamai reports Q3 in line with expectations but stock drops on weak guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Akamai expects 2027 Cloud Infrastructure Services revenue of $1.1–$1.3 billion, with $30 million from an Anthropic deal shifting into 2027 due to timing. Separately, reports noted Q3 profit declined from a year earlier, with EPS down from $1.86 to $1.77. Akamai anticipates CIS revenue in 2027 as Anthropic deal timing shifts Akamai profit drops in Q3

Akamai Technologies Company Profile

Akamai Technologies, Inc provides cloud, cybersecurity and content-delivery services that help organizations operate and protect applications, websites and digital media over the internet. Its distributed edge platform is designed to deliver online content closer to end users while improving performance, availability and resilience.

The company's services include content delivery and application performance solutions, cloud computing capabilities, web and application security, distributed denial-of-service protection, bot management and zero-trust security tools.

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