Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) Shares Bought by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,352 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock after buying an additional 3,763 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Akamai Technologies were worth $2,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Akamai Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Akamai Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Akamai Technologies by 443.2% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 804 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Akamai Technologies by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 894 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AKAM. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Akamai Technologies in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Akamai Technologies from $102.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Akamai Technologies in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Akamai Technologies from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Akamai Technologies from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Akamai Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.55.

Insider Transactions at Akamai Technologies

In related news, CEO F Thomson Leighton acquired 37,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $79.58 per share, for a total transaction of $2,997,778.60. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul C. Joseph sold 4,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $366,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,115,633.28. This represents a 14.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,394 shares of company stock worth $3,019,323. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Akamai Technologies Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AKAM opened at $80.73 on Monday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $12.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $91.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.88. Akamai Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.50 and a 1-year high of $110.18.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The technology infrastructure company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.33). Akamai Technologies had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 12.65%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Analysts forecast that Akamai Technologies, Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

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.