Don't Ignore The Insider Selling In Akamai Technologies

We'd be surprised if Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) shareholders haven't noticed that an insider, Anthony Williams, recently sold US$395k worth of stock at US$113 per share. That sale was 45% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

View our latest analysis for Akamai Technologies

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Akamai Technologies

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Executive VP, Aaron Ahola, for US$493k worth of shares, at about US$112 per share. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$109. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

Insiders in Akamai Technologies didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Akamai Technologies insiders own about US$283m worth of shares (which is 1.7% of the company). I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Akamai Technologies Tell Us?

An insider sold Akamai Technologies shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But it is good to see that Akamai Technologies is growing earnings. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. While conducting our analysis, we found that Akamai Technologies has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

Of course Akamai Technologies may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.