Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) Short Interest Update

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 8,820,000 shares, a decrease of 14.1% from the February 13th total of 10,270,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,370,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Currently, 6.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Akamai Technologies Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ AKAM opened at $82.06 on Wednesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $91.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.61. Akamai Technologies has a 52-week low of $75.50 and a 52-week high of $110.18. The firm has a market cap of $12.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.17, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AKAM shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Akamai Technologies from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Akamai Technologies from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer raised Akamai Technologies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Akamai Technologies in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.55.

Insider Activity at Akamai Technologies

In related news, EVP Mani Sundaram sold 10,683 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total transaction of $924,293.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,075,441.76. The trade was a 30.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul C. Joseph sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,115,633.28. The trade was a 14.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,394 shares of company stock valued at $3,019,323. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AKAM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Akamai Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $477,454,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Akamai Technologies by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,116,398 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $489,383,000 after acquiring an additional 690,341 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Akamai Technologies by 595.3% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 318,912 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $30,504,000 after acquiring an additional 273,043 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Akamai Technologies by 43.4% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 778,208 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $74,473,000 after purchasing an additional 235,394 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Akamai Technologies by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,197,009 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $423,066,000 after purchasing an additional 202,746 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.