Morgan Stanley Raises Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) Price Target to $165.00

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) had its target price upped by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $165.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the technology infrastructure company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 9.36% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on AKAM. Bank of America upgraded shares of Akamai Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Akamai Technologies from $134.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Akamai Technologies from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Akamai Technologies from $72.00 to $100.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Akamai Technologies from $76.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Akamai Technologies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.29.

Akamai Technologies Trading Down 3.1%

Akamai Technologies stock opened at $150.88 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 2.36 and a current ratio of 2.06. The firm has a market cap of $21.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.45. Akamai Technologies has a 1 year low of $69.78 and a 1 year high of $165.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $111.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.98.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The technology infrastructure company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.61. Akamai Technologies had a net margin of 10.20% and a return on equity of 12.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Akamai Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.400-7.150 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.450-1.650 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Akamai Technologies will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Mani Sundaram sold 1,722 shares of Akamai Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.58, for a total value of $169,754.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,961.26. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Anthony P. Williams sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total transaction of $1,564,350.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,301,054.56. This represents a 40.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 53,954 shares of company stock worth $5,511,371 in the last 90 days. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Akamai Technologies during the third quarter worth about $5,323,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. grew its stake in Akamai Technologies by 467.7% during the third quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 19,144 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $1,450,000 after buying an additional 15,772 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its stake in Akamai Technologies by 48.5% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 68,111 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $5,160,000 after buying an additional 22,242 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its stake in Akamai Technologies by 42.4% during the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 251,322 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $19,040,000 after buying an additional 74,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Akamai Technologies by 71.5% during the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 34,051 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $2,580,000 after buying an additional 14,192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.28% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Akamai Technologies

Here are the key news stories impacting Akamai Technologies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Akamai to $165 and kept an overweight rating, signaling improved Wall Street confidence in the stock’s upside. Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) Price Target Raised to $165.00 at Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup lifted its target to $160 from $110 while maintaining a neutral rating, reflecting a much higher valuation view than before. Citigroup adjusts Akamai Technologies price target to $160 from $110, maintains neutral rating
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America also raised its target to $175, adding to the list of recent upgrades and helping support the stock’s recent strength. This Analyst Just Upgraded Akamai Technologies. Here’s Why.
• Positive Sentiment: Akamai announced it will acquire LayerX for about $205 million, a move aimed at expanding its workforce security and AI usage-control capabilities, which may strengthen its long-term growth story. Akamai Technologies Announces Intent to Acquire LayerX
• Positive Sentiment: Experian said Akamai joined its agent trust partner ecosystem, highlighting Akamai’s role in secure, trusted AI-driven commerce initiatives. Experian Expands Agent Trust Partner Ecosystem with Akamai
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the upbeat analyst sentiment, some traders are also weighing near-term integration costs and deal uncertainty from the LayerX purchase, which may explain some of the recent volatility.

Akamai Technologies Company Profile

Akamai Technologies, Inc is a leading provider of content delivery network (CDN) services and cloud security solutions designed to optimize and safeguard digital experiences. Leveraging a globally distributed platform, the company accelerates web and mobile content delivery for enterprises, media companies, e-commerce platforms and government agencies. Its edge computing architecture brings processing power closer to end users, reducing latency and improving application performance across geographies.

The company’s core offerings include content acceleration, web and mobile performance optimization, media delivery, and a suite of cybersecurity solutions that protect against DDoS attacks, application-layer threats and bot-driven fraud.