Oppenheimer Initiates Coverage on Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM)

Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 price target on the technology infrastructure company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 23.40% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James reduced 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 note on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Akamai Technologies from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Akamai Technologies from $115.00 to $107.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Akamai Technologies from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Akamai Technologies from $102.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Akamai Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.55.

Akamai Technologies Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AKAM opened at $81.04 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $12.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $90.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Akamai Technologies has a 1-year low of $75.50 and a 1-year high of $110.14.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO F Thomson Leighton acquired 37,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $79.58 per share, with a total value of $2,997,778.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,929,676.36. This represents a 37.79 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Aaron Ahola sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.92, for a total transaction of $323,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,074.12. The trade was a 13.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,394 shares of company stock worth $3,019,323. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akamai Technologies

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in Akamai Technologies by 99.6% during the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 469 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Akamai Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Akamai Technologies by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 554 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akamai Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Akamai Technologies by 500.0% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 624 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. 94.28% of the stock is currently 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.