Akamai Technologies

AKAM · NASDAQ

$89.63+$2.38 (+2.73%)TodayMarket closed · Oct 20, 4:05 PM ET

Prev close $87.25

AKAM analyst rating

BuyConsensus of 18 analysts over the last 12 months. 61% rate it a buy.

Strong buy1
Buy10
Hold7
Underperform0
Sell0

12-month price target · 26 analysts

Average $158.66 (+77.0% upside)

Low: $91.91
Now: $89.63
High: $236.25

Upgrades and downgrades

The latest rating actions, newest first

AKAM analyst upgrades, downgrades and rating actions
Firm	Date	Action	Rating	Price target	Hit rate
Raymond James	Oct 20, 2026	Upgrade	Outperform → Strong Buy	$170.00	48%
DA Davidson	Sep 30, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$150.00	61%
DA Davidson	Sep 29, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$150.00	61%
DA Davidson	Sep 28, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$185.00 → $150.00	61%
UBS	Sep 25, 2026	Maintains	Neutral	$143.00 → $148.00	60%
Piper Sandler	Sep 25, 2026	Maintains	Overweight	$125.00 → $158.00	51%
DA Davidson	Sep 25, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$185.00	61%
TD Cowen	Sep 25, 2026	Maintains	Hold	$140.00 → $149.00	41%
JP Morgan	Sep 25, 2026	Maintains	Neutral	$158.00 → $167.00	70%
RBC Capital	Sep 25, 2026	Maintains	Sector Perform	$135.00	51%

The case for and against

Updated Oct 14, 2026

Bull case

Akamai Technologies is well positioned because its global delivery network of over 350,000 servers across 4,350 points of presence gives it unmatched scale, data visibility, and a strong base to expand cybersecurity and cloud offerings. The company’s shift toward AI infrastructure is validated by the $11.6B, 7-year Anthropic agreement, which lifts 2026 cloud contract value to about $14.4B and could ultimately support roughly $2.2B of annual recurring revenue once fully ramped. Although the deal requires about $5.5B of capex, management expects revenue to begin in 2H27 and scale to a ~$1.7B annualized run-rate by year-end 2028, supporting the view that the investment is NPV accretive.

Bear case

Akamai Technologies is viewed negatively because the Anthropic deal appears only modestly value-creating, with an estimated ~15% IRR and ~12% modified IRR against a ~9.5% WACC, leaving a thin buffer and little margin for slower-than-expected ramp or higher hurdle rates. The economics also look capital-intensive, with assumed Capex per MW of about $75-80M, revenue per MW only around $25M, and ARR per dollar of Capex near ~$0.30, which suggests weak capital efficiency and heightened customer concentration risk. Beyond that, the core CDN business faces ~15% annual price compression, possible DIY displacement by large customers, acquisition integration risk, and meaningful international exposure, while elevated interest-rate sensitivity could pressure valuation multiples.

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