Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 8,820,000 shares, a decline 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 days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days. Currently, 6.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Akamai Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AKAM opened at $82.06 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $91.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.61. The company has a market capitalization of $12.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.68. Akamai Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $75.50 and a fifty-two week high of $110.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology infrastructure company reported $1.19 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. Research analysts predict that Akamai Technologies will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Paul C. Joseph sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,115,633.28. The trade was a 14.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mani Sundaram sold 10,683 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total value of $924,293.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,988 shares in the company, valued at $2,075,441.76. The trade was a 30.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,394 shares of company stock valued at $3,019,323. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Akamai Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AKAM. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Akamai Technologies by 99.6% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 469 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Akamai Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Akamai Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 500.0% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 624 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. 94.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AKAM. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of 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. Raymond James reduced their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Akamai Technologies from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Akamai Technologies in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Akamai Technologies from $102.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Akamai Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.55.

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.