Akamai (AKAM) shares are extending gains in Tuesday’s session after Raymond James upgraded the cloud and cybersecurity company to “Strong Buy.” In a research note this morning, senior analyst Frank Louthan maintained his price target at $170, signaling potential upside of a whopping 90% from current levels.
His bullish call brings a much-needed reprieve to Akamai stock, which is down roughly 45% versus its year-to-date high.
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www.barchart.comLouthan’s Bullish View on Akamai Stock
Louthan believes the recent decline in AKAM stock is an opportunity to buy into the company’s long-term growth prospects at a more attractive price.
Last week’s retreat reflected mounting anxiety about financing across the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, with Akamai particularly exposed because of its $5.5 billion capital commitment supporting its Anthropic deal.
However, that investment is intended to generate more than $11 billion in revenue, he told clients. All in all, the analyst sees the market’s reaction as “overdone” and recommends that investors look beyond immediate funding concerns.
That said, Barchart holds an “88% SELL” opinion on Akamai, signaling technical momentum isn’t in its favor for the near term.
AKAM Shares Are Attractively Priced
Following the recent selloff, Akamai shares are trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of about 24x, which makes them significantly cheaper to own than rivals including Cloudflare (NET) and Fastly (FSLY).
Raymond James has immense confidence in Anthropic’s ability to remain funded and maintain its obligations (including the one with Akamai), which makes the Nasdaq-listed firm a compelling long-term buy.
Its bullish call is particularly significant given Akamai Technologies is expected to record $0.92 in earnings per share (EPS) for its fiscal Q3 in early November, which would represent about a 13.21% decline on a year-over-year basis.
What’s the Consensus View on Akamai Technologies?
Crucially, other Wall Street analysts are just as bullish on Akamai Technologies heading into 2027.
According to Barchart, the consensus rating on AKAM shares remains at “Moderate Buy,” with the mean price target of about $160 indicating potential for a nearly 80% rally from current levels.
www.barchart.com On the date of publication, Wajeeh Khan did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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