Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) Stake Trimmed by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank cut its position in shares of Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) by 4.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,010 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Akamai Technologies were worth $271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 170.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 306 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Akamai Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Akamai Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Akamai Technologies by 224.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 448 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 449 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. 94.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AKAM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Akamai Technologies in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Akamai Technologies from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Akamai Technologies from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Akamai Technologies from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target on Akamai Technologies from $138.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.00.

Akamai Technologies Price Performance

NASDAQ:AKAM opened at $100.08 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.88. Akamai Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.59 and a 52-week high of $129.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 3.25 and a current ratio of 3.25. The company has a market cap of $15.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 0.67.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The technology infrastructure company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.05. Akamai Technologies had a net margin of 16.12% and a return on equity of 15.02%. The firm had revenue of $979.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Akamai Technologies, Inc. will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Akamai Technologies declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 9th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology infrastructure company to reacquire up to 13.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William Raymond Wagner sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total transaction of $100,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,719 shares in the company, valued at $1,684,104.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CTO Robert Blumofe sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.34, for a total transaction of $265,020.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 24,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,184,559.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William Raymond Wagner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total value of $100,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,684,104.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,500 shares of company stock valued at $617,475. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.