Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) Hits New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $73.57 and last traded at $75.11, with a volume of 564970 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $78.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Akamai Technologies in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Akamai Technologies from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup decreased their price target on Akamai Technologies from $102.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Akamai Technologies from $115.00 to $107.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on Akamai Technologies from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Akamai Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.55.

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Akamai Technologies Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $85.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.13.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 12.65% and a return on equity of 14.35%. Analysts expect that Akamai Technologies, Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Paul C. Joseph sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.57, for a total value of $366,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,104 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,115,633.28. This trade represents a 14.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO F Thomson Leighton acquired 37,670 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $79.58 per share, with a total value of $2,997,778.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,929,676.36. The trade was a 37.79 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,394 shares of company stock worth $3,019,323 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Akamai Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Akamai Technologies by 49.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,746 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 188,388 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $19,018,000 after acquiring an additional 46,335 shares during the period. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Akamai Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $827,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Akamai Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $617,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.28% of the company's stock.

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.