Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) Earns Hold Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their hold rating on shares of Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM - Free Report) in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on AKAM. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Akamai Technologies from $115.00 to $92.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Akamai Technologies from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Craig Hallum dropped their price objective on shares of Akamai Technologies from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Akamai Technologies from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Akamai Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Akamai Technologies has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $114.00.

Akamai Technologies Price Performance

AKAM stock traded down $1.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $95.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,429,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,751,869. Akamai Technologies has a 1 year low of $86.26 and a 1 year high of $129.17. The company has a quick ratio of 3.25, a current ratio of 3.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $14.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.72. The company's fifty day moving average is $103.73 and its 200-day moving average is $111.55.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The technology infrastructure company reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.03. Akamai Technologies had a return on equity of 15.02% and a net margin of 16.12%. The business had revenue of $986.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $989.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. Akamai Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Akamai Technologies will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Akamai Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 9th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology infrastructure company to reacquire up to 13.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Anthony P. Williams sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.73, for a total transaction of $489,285.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,938 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,624,208.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Adam Karon sold 8,394 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.26, for a total transaction of $908,734.44. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 21,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,278,439.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anthony P. Williams sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.73, for a total transaction of $489,285.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,938 shares in the company, valued at $1,624,208.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,243 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,153 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akamai Technologies

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Akamai Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $325,242,000. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Akamai Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $218,201,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Akamai Technologies by 123.8% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 736,236 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $78,439,000 after buying an additional 407,321 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Akamai Technologies by 40.7% during the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 790,376 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $84,387,000 after buying an additional 228,529 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Akamai Technologies by 22.0% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,266,406 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $134,923,000 after buying an additional 228,200 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.