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

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,080,000 shares, a growth of 5.8% from the January 15th total of 9,530,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,900,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.3 days. Approximately 6.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Akamai Technologies Price Performance

AKAM opened at $100.01 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $96.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.91. Akamai Technologies has a 12-month low of $84.70 and a 12-month high of $114.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $15.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.59, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AKAM. UBS Group started coverage on Akamai Technologies in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on Akamai Technologies from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Akamai Technologies from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. HSBC raised Akamai Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on Akamai Technologies from $115.00 to $112.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Akamai Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Edward J. Mcgowan sold 10,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.71, for a total value of $1,064,291.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,716 shares in the company, valued at $1,255,196.36. This trade represents a 45.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Paul C. Joseph sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,782 shares of company stock worth $1,523,951 in the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Akamai Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 247 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its position 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 stake in shares of Akamai Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 38.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Akamai Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.