Insiders at Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) sold US$2.6m worth of stock, possibly indicating weakness in the future

Over the past year, many Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying versus if they selling is usually more beneficial, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Akamai Technologies

Akamai Technologies Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Executive Vice President of Global Sales & Services, Paul Joseph, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.2m worth of shares at a price of US$95.22 each. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$73.61. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

In the last year Akamai Technologies insiders didn't buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Akamai Technologies Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Akamai Technologies shares. In total, insiders dumped US$737k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Does Akamai Technologies Boast High Insider Ownership?

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Akamai Technologies insiders own 1.7% of the company, currently worth about US$199m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Akamai Technologies Insiders?

Insiders sold Akamai Technologies shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Akamai Technologies. 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, but not derivative transactions.

What are the risks and opportunities for Akamai Technologies?

NasdaqGS:AKAM

Akamai Technologies

Akamai Technologies, Inc. provides cloud services for securing, delivering, and computing content, applications, and software over the internet in the United States and internationally.Show more

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Rewards

• Trading at 22.7% below our estimate of its fair value

• Earnings are forecast to grow 11.56% per year

Risks

• Significant insider selling over the past 3 months

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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.