Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM)

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 10,603 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 49% compared to the typical volume of 7,111 put options.

Akamai Technologies Stock Performance

Akamai Technologies stock opened at $73.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $10.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.80. Akamai Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $67.51 and a fifty-two week high of $106.80. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.06.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) last announced its earnings results 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). The firm 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Akamai Technologies will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AKAM shares. TD Cowen lowered Akamai Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America downgraded shares of Akamai Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $100.00 in a report on Friday, February 21st. Craig Hallum downgraded shares of Akamai Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Akamai Technologies from $102.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mani Sundaram sold 10,683 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total transaction of $924,293.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,075,441.76. This represents a 30.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO F Thomson Leighton acquired 37,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $79.58 per share, for a total transaction of $2,997,778.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 137,342 shares in the company, valued at $10,929,676.36. The trade was a 37.79 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,394 shares of company stock valued at $2,653,043. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akamai Technologies

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Akamai Technologies by 54.8% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 438 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. 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 valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Akamai Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Akamai Technologies by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 554 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Akamai Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $57,000. 94.28% of the stock is currently 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.