Fastly (NYSE:FSLY) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Key Points

• Fastly shares rose significantly after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with an earnings per share of ($0.03), surpassing the consensus estimate of ($0.05).
• Wall Street analysts have positively revised their ratings and target prices for Fastly, with an average price target of $8.50 and nine analysts rating the stock as a hold.
• Insider selling activity has been noted, with CEO Todd Nightingale selling over 12,500 shares while still holding around 1.9 million shares valued at approximately $13.7 million.

Shares of Fastly, Inc. (NYSE:FSLY - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $6.52, but opened at $7.53. Fastly shares last traded at $7.75, with a volume of 2,945,035 shares changing hands.

The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.02. Fastly had a negative net margin of 25.85% and a negative return on equity of 11.98%. The company had revenue of $148.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $144.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.07) earnings per share. Fastly's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Fastly from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $10.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Fastly from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Fastly from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. KeyCorp raised shares of Fastly to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Fastly from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $8.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastly

In other news, CEO Todd Nightingale sold 12,547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.19, for a total value of $90,212.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,904,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,692,549.72. The trade was a 0.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Ronald W. Kisling sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.41, for a total value of $88,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 635,053 shares in the company, valued at $4,705,742.73. The trade was a 1.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 162,124 shares of company stock worth $1,138,628 over the last ninety days. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fastly

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in Fastly in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastly by 451.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,261 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 5,945 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fastly during the 1st quarter worth $52,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Fastly during the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Fastly in the fourth quarter valued at $105,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.71% of the company's stock.

Fastly Trading Down 2.4%

The business's 50-day moving average is $7.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of -6.60 and a beta of 1.19.

Fastly Company Profile

Fastly, Inc operates an edge cloud platform for processing, serving, and securing its customer's applications in the United States, the Asia Pacific, Europe, and internationally. The edge cloud is a category of Infrastructure as a Service that enables developers to build, secure, and deliver digital experiences at the edge of the internet.