Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) Stock Rating Upgraded by HSBC

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at HSBC from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $121.00 price target on the technology infrastructure company's stock. HSBC's price target would indicate a potential upside of 34.38% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Akamai Technologies in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Akamai Technologies in a report on Friday, August 9th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Akamai Technologies in a report on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Akamai Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Akamai Technologies from $115.00 to $112.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Akamai Technologies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.47.

Akamai Technologies Stock Performance

Akamai Technologies stock traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $90.04. 2,064,261 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,641,990. Akamai Technologies has a one year low of $87.59 and a one year high of $129.17. The company has a market cap of $13.64 billion, a PE ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $100.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The technology infrastructure company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.05. Akamai Technologies had a net margin of 16.01% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The firm had revenue of $979.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. Akamai Technologies's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Akamai Technologies will post 4.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Paul C. Joseph sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.30, for a total transaction of $389,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 30,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,987,401.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CTO Robert Blumofe sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.69, for a total transaction of $251,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 22,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,216,186.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Paul C. Joseph sold 4,000 shares of Akamai Technologies stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.30, for a total transaction of $389,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 30,703 shares in the company, valued at $2,987,401.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,500 shares of company stock worth $741,655 in the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akamai Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AKAM. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Akamai Technologies by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,732,750 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $156,088,000 after buying an additional 347,626 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,354,428 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock worth $147,308,000 after buying an additional 222,290 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Akamai Technologies by 409.2% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 248,045 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $26,977,000 after buying an additional 199,334 shares in the last quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in Akamai Technologies in the second quarter valued at $15,314,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Akamai Technologies by 33.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 651,400 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $58,678,000 after acquiring an additional 162,700 shares during the period. 94.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.