Investing
Akamai: Moving From Buyout Bait Back To Resurrection (AKAM, YHOO, GOOG)
Published:
Last Updated:
Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) is flying high this morning. The content acceleration company reported earnings last night that beat expectations and the company is taking a more focused look at management. We cannot help but to think that the move here now may be a shift away from Akamai as buyout bait to Akamai as a turnaround.
The news is that net income rose to $42.3 million from $39.7 million and comparable earnings that analysts use came in at $0.34 EPS as revenue rose more than 10% to $281.9 million. Thomson Reuters had estimates of $0.33 EPS and $278.87 million in sales.
For the current quarter we are already in, Akamai said revenue should come in between $303 and $315 million versus the Thomson Reuters estimate of $310.53 million. Sales in the Q4-2010 period were $$284.7 million.
Another bit of news is that David Kenny stepped down as President after only about a year and CEO Paul Sagan has been given the additional role of president (again). The rumor is that David Kenny is a possible Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) CEO candidate.
The takeaway is simple. Akamai is constantly thrown around as a takeover candidate and the rumor mill has always been active there. The rumored acquirer most recently was Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) but that was effectively denied or rejected. We always thought that getting a high-premium buyout takes away the value and there are still too many buried shareholders who remember much higher share prices that would vote against a low-premium merger.
Now is the time to consider whether or not Akamai is turning itself around. Shares closed at $23.78 yesterday and the 52-week range is $18.25 to $54.65. Yep, shares had been cut in half… and then some.
Akamai shares are flying higher with gains of over 14.5% at $27.25 this morning after about 75 minutes of trading.
JON C. OGG
The Average American Has No Idea How Much Money You Can Make Today (Sponsor)
The last few years made people forget how much banks and CD’s can pay. Meanwhile, interest rates have spiked and many can afford to pay you much more, but most are keeping yields low and hoping you won’t notice.
But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying almost 10x the national average! That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe and earn more at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 3.80% with a Checking & Savings Account today Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.
Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes to open an account to make your money work for you.
Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 4.00% with a Checking & Savings Account from Sofi. Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.