Akamai Technologies (AKAM) closed at $76.84 in the latest trading session, marking a -2.98% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.05%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.59%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.45%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the cloud services provider had gained 6.64% outpaced the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 5.42% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.44%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Akamai Technologies in its upcoming release. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.62, signifying a 1.89% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $1.04 billion, showing a 3.7% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $6.66 per share and a revenue of $4.17 billion, demonstrating changes of +2.78% and +4.36%, respectively, from the preceding year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Akamai Technologies. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.74% higher within the past month. Akamai Technologies is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Akamai Technologies is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 11.89. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 24.29 of its industry.
We can additionally observe that AKAM currently boasts a PEG ratio of 2.43. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Internet – Services industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.62.
The Internet – Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 147, which puts it in the bottom 41% of all 250+ industries.
