Akamai Technologies (AKAM) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

AKAM

Akamai Technologies (AKAM - Free Report) closed the latest trading day at $118.10, indicating a +0.7% change from the previous session's end. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.08%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.31%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.02%.

The cloud services provider's shares have seen a decrease of 0.89% over the last month, not keeping up with the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 2.68% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.52%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Akamai Technologies in its upcoming earnings disclosure. On that day, Akamai Technologies is projected to report earnings of $1.59 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 16.06%. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $996.99 million, showing a 7.46% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Akamai Technologies. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.04% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Akamai Technologies is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

With respect to valuation, Akamai Technologies is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 17.41. This indicates a discount in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 24.39.

It's also important to note that AKAM currently trades at a PEG ratio of 1.79. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The average PEG ratio for the Internet - Services industry stood at 1.96 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Internet - Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 53, putting it in the top 22% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.

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