On Friday, Evercore ISI adjusted its price target for Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) shares, reducing it to $105 from the previous $115 while maintaining an Outperform rating on the stock.
The firm highlighted that Akamai experienced a slight miss in revenue but surpassed earnings expectations in the March quarter, with a revenue/earnings per share (EPS) of $987 million/$1.64 compared to the consensus of $989 million/$1.61.
The year-over-year growth was reported at 7.8%, propelled by significant performance in the compute and security sectors, which saw increases of 25% and 21% respectively in constant currency terms.
However, Akamai's delivery revenues faced challenges, declining by 10% year-over-year in constant currency, compared to 7% and 4% in the preceding two quarters.
This was primarily due to a major social media client optimizing costs, leading to reduced delivery services, and a general slowdown in traffic growth across the industry.
Despite these headwinds, Akamai's operating margins expanded by 76 basis points year-over-year to 29.6%, thanks to a favorable mix shift toward compute and security.
Akamai's guidance for the June quarter fell short of market expectations, forecasting revenue/EPS between $967 million and $986 million/$1.51 and $1.56, versus the consensus of $1.0 billion/$1.63.
The company also revised its full-year 2024 revenue guidance downward to approximately $3.985 billion from $4.08 billion and EPS to $6.20-$6.40 from the prior range of $6.63-$6.88.
This revision accounts for foreign exchange fluctuations and anticipated lower traffic from a key social media client and the broader market.
Despite these challenges, the firm remains optimistic about Akamai's future due to expected growth in the security and compute verticals, which are anticipated to outperform previous forecasts.
However, these sectors are not projected to fully compensate for the delivery segment's weakness. Akamai is continuing to invest in its compute/security portfolio, including the planned acquisition of API security provider Noname, which is expected to close in late Q2 and contribute around $20 million in revenues in the second half of 2024.
The firm concluded that while delivery issues and the lowered guidance might weigh on the stock, the growing and margin-enhancing parts of Akamai's business could become more prominent in fiscal year 2024.
InvestingPro Insights
Evercore ISI's revised price target for Akamai Technologies comes amid a mix of performance metrics. According to InvestingPro data, Akamai's market cap stands at $15.7 billion, with a P/E ratio of 28.42, which adjusts to 24.21 for the last twelve months as of Q1 2024, suggesting a valuation that may be on the higher side relative to near-term earnings growth. The company's revenue growth for the same period was a solid 7.01%, indicating a steady upward trajectory in its financial performance. Moreover, Akamai's gross profit margin remains robust at 60.31%, reflecting its ability to maintain profitability despite the challenges in the delivery segment.
One of the InvestingPro Tips highlights that Akamai's management has been aggressively buying back shares, which could be indicative of the company's confidence in its long-term value. Additionally, the stock is known to trade with low price volatility, potentially offering a more stable investment in a sector known for its fluctuations. For readers interested in more in-depth analysis and additional tips, there are 6 more InvestingPro Tips available for Akamai Technologies, which can be accessed with a special offer. Use the coupon code PRONEWS24 to get an additional 10% off a yearly or biyearly Pro and Pro+ subscription at InvestingPro.
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