Akamai's (AKAM) most important division is its media content delivery, constituting around 34% of its stock value by our estimates. The high value attributed to this division in our analysis comes from expectations of rapid growth in Akamai's revenue per media customer. As a content delivery company providing web content to its customers, Akamai competes with other players like InterNAP Network Services (INAP), Limelight Networks (LLNW) and Level 3 (LVLT).

Our price estimate for Akamai stands at $37.11, which is roughly in line with market price.

Continue reading A Bright Outlook for Akamai's Revenue per Media Customer

A Bright Outlook for Akamai's Revenue per Media Customer originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Akamai (AKAM) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Las Vegas Sands (LVS) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Aetna (AET) to Outperform from market perform at Leerink.
• Hot Topic (HOTT) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Colonial Properties (CLP) upgraded to Outperform from market perform at FBR Capital and to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Altera (ALTR) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• American Reprographics (ARC), CarMax (KMX) and American Campus (ACC) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Zebra Tech (ZBRA) to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• IMAX (IMAX) to buy from hold at Canaccord.
• Basic Energy (BAS) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Mednax (MD) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• UTi Worldwide (UTIW) to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AET, AKAM, BBY, DVN, HOG, IMAX, LVS, RIMM, UNH, URBN ...

Analyst Calls: AET, AKAM, BBY, DVN, HOG, IMAX, LVS, RIMM, UNH, URBN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Akamai Receives Upgrade -- Will You Buy the Stock?

Akamai Receives Upgrade -- Will You Buy the Stock? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Netflix (NFLX) and Zions Bancorp (ZION) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Akamai (AKAM) to buy from neutral at Merriman.
• CSX (CSX) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Nordstrom (JWN) to buy from neutral, WellCare (WCG) to conviction buy from buy and Humana (HUM) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• E-Commerce China Dangdang (DANG) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• VMware (VMW) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Celanese (CE) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ADM, AKAM, ALL, CP, CSX, HRL, HUM, JWN, NFLX, NSRGY ...

Analyst Calls: ADM, AKAM, ALL, CP, CSX, HRL, HUM, JWN, NFLX, NSRGY ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Cree (CREE) and Rubicon Technology (RBCN) to buy from neutral at Merriman.
• Children's Place (PLCE) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• Lockheed Martin (LMT) to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Copano Energy (CPNO) to outperform from market perform at Morgan Keegan.
• Motorola Mobility (MMI) to neutral from reduce at Nomura.
• Parker-Hannifin (PH) to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• Akamai (AKAM), ShoreTel (SHOR), AMB Property (AMB) and ProLogis (PLD) to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AAPL, AEO, CREE, DELL, HPQ, IBM, LMT, MMI, MYGN, PH ...

Analyst Calls: AAPL, AEO, CREE, DELL, HPQ, IBM, LMT, MMI, MYGN, PH ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Akamai (AKAM) is a content delivery company that delivers web content for its customers and also offers other value-added services like advertising solutions and site acceleration. It competes with other players like InterNAP Network Services, Limelight Networks and Level 3 in this business and delivers close to 20% of global web traffic. Our price estimate for Akamai stands at $37.11, which is roughly 10% below market price.

Akamai stands to gain from current data trends. As Internet usage accelerates, Akamai's fundamental business drivers continue to improve. Notably, mobile data usage is growing at a faster pace than overall data usage, creating a few unique opportunities (and risks) for Akamai.

Continue reading Mobile Traffic Explosion Creates Both Opportunity and Risk for Akamai

Mobile Traffic Explosion Creates Both Opportunity and Risk for Akamai originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 05 Mar 2011 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• SINA (SINA) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Texas Instruments (TXN), ON Semiconductor (ONNN), Xilinx (XLNX) and Valassis (VCI) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Salesforce.com (CRM) to buy from hold at Canaccord.
• Peet's Coffee (PEET) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Invesco Mortgage (IVR) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• BTU International (BTUI) to buy from hold at Wunderlich.
• Coca-Cola Femsa (KOF) to overweight from neutral at HSBC.
• Chipotle (CMG) to market perform from underperform at Morgan Keegan.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AKAM, CIEN, CMG, CRM, FDO, GOOG, JNPR, MCC, TXN, YHOO ...

Analyst Calls: AKAM, CIEN, CMG, CRM, FDO, GOOG, JNPR, MCC, TXN, YHOO ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Mar 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Akamai is a content delivery company that delivers web content for its customers besides offering additional value added services like advertising solutions and site acceleration. It competes with other players like InterNAP Network Services, Limelight Networks and Level 3 in this business and delivers close to 20% of global web traffic. Our price estimate for Akamai stands at $37.11, which is about 23% below the current market price.

The company recently released its Q4 2010 earnings, and we have increased our price estimate to $37.11 based on continued fast growth in revenues across all verticals. Our new estimates value the media content delivery segment as the most valuable for Akamai. We previously had e-commerce as the most valuable segment, but the rebound in media revenues has impressed us leading us to change our forecasts and the way we view this business.

Continue reading Media Content Delivery Becomes Largest Value Driver for Akamai

Media Content Delivery Becomes Largest Value Driver for Akamai originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup upgraded Colgate (CL) and Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH) to buy from hold.
• Wells Fargo upgraded IDACORP (IDA) to outperform from market perform.
• Union Pacific (UNP) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Goldman upgraded Quicksilver (KWK) to neutral from sell.
• Republic Airways (RJET) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded GAMCO Investors (GBL) to neutral from underperform.
• Senior Housing (SNH) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AKAM, CL, DB, JASO, MON, PVH, RAX, UNP ...

Analyst Calls: AKAM, CL, DB, JASO, MON, PVH, RAX, UNP ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you are looking for clues telling you which stocks have a good chance of increasing in value, you might want consider watching what insiders are doing. After all, talk is cheap, but when insiders put their own money on the line, you should sit up and take note.

Calumet Specialty Products Partners L P (CLMT) topped the insider-buying charts for the week ending July 9th as insiders snapped up 775,000 shares of company stock at a market value of $13,678,750. During the past six months, insiders have increased their overall holdings in the company by 0.37% and now own 53.69% of CLMT stock.

Alliance Healthcare Services Inc (AIQ) was not far behind, with insiders buying 450,000 shares at a market value of $2,024,250. Insiders now own 6.23% of the company's stock.

Continue reading Insiders Snapping Up Calumet Specialty Products, Alliance Healthcare and More

Insiders Snapping Up Calumet Specialty Products, Alliance Healthcare and More originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded East West Bancorp (EWBC) to outperform from market perform after the company acquired assets from Washington First International Bank. The firm has a $21 price target for shares.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Amylin (AMLN) to overweight from neutral, citing valuation and Bydureon's profile. The firm maintains a $26 price target for shares.
• Soleil upgraded MGM Mirage (MGM) to hold from sell, citing signs of stabilization in Vegas and valuation. The firm upped its target for shares to $13 from $11.10.
• T. Rowe Price (TROW) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• JetBlue (JBLU) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• NetEase.com (NTES) was upgraded to buy from hold at Standpoint Research.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AMLN, AMR, EWBC, FSYS, LGF, LUV, MGM, PLOW, SXCI, TROW ...

Analyst Calls: AMLN, AMR, EWBC, FSYS, LGF, LUV, MGM, PLOW, SXCI, TROW ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"We are still finding attractively valued growers in tech," says quantitative analyst Richard Morney.

In his Upside stock advisory newsletter, he notes "We have found several especially promising tech stocks with solid track records, strong finances, and attractive growth prospects."

Here, the advisor reviews three stocks that earn his top 'best buy' rating: Akamai NASDAQ: AKAM), Synaptics (NASDAQ: SYNA) and TeleCommunications Systems (NASDAQ: TSYS).

Continue reading A trio of technology values

A trio of technology values originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) earnings prospects garnered an analyst's upgrade.
• Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) warned of a loss for the quarter due to the economic slowdown.
• Burger King Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BKC) posted lower Q2 profit and revenue that missed estimates.
• Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) Q2 profit fell but beat estimates, and it reaffirmed its full-year guidance.
• Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) swung to a Q4 loss and warned that low demand will continue.
• Hartford Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG) posted a loss, cut its dividend, and offered weak guidance.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Toyota, Disney, Merck, Marathon, News Corp. and others

Earnings highlights: Toyota, Disney, Merck, Marathon, News Corp. and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 08 Feb 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post was written by Minyanville contributor Sean Udall.

Through my career I've generally stayed apolitical with regard to investment and trading decisions, but there have been times when some higher percentage trades have presented themselves due to political circumstances. Examples include: the tech push in Clinton's second term, the defense sector after Bush's 2000 victory, as well as the oil patch. Based on that, here are some overriding thoughts, in no particular order.

Continue reading Post-election investment thoughts: Energy, tech, infrastructure

Post-election investment thoughts: Energy, tech, infrastructure originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Nov 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) beat estimates but shares fell to a new 52-week low.
• Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) posted better-than-expected Q2 results and listed its guidance.
• CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) issued a lackluster Q2 earnings report and will buy back shares.
• Concur Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: CNQR) Q3 revenues spiked, and it announced a big deal.
• Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) swung to a Q2 profit due to a tax refund, but revenue growth was minimal.
• Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) narrowed its loss in Q1 as revenue more than doubled.
• First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) easily beat analysts' expectations and raised its guidance.
• General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) posted a bigger-than-expected Q2 loss on massive charges.
• Kellogg Co. (NYSE: K) posted solid Q2 results on price increases, and raised its guidance.
• Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) reported healthy Q2 results on merger and restructuring deals.
• Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MER) warned of a $5.7 billion write-down in the third quarter.
• Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) posted breakeven earnings while revenue fell but beat estimates.
• Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP) reported a Q2 loss due to slower sales, sending shares lower.
• Siemens (NYSE: SI) said that Q3 earnings fell from a one-time gain last year.
• Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) Q1 profits tumbled on lower handset and flat-panel TV sales.
• Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) forecast a loss in this quarter due to weakness in the financial sector.
• Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) had better-than-expected Q2 results on growth in wireless.
• Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) reported strong Q3 results that easily beat Wall Street expectations.
• Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) posted better-than-expected Q2 profit on theme park and ESPN strength.

For more highlights from this week, see: Exxon, Starbucks, Viacom, Comcast, Sirius, Kraft and others

Upcoming quarterly reports include Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Jack-in-the-Box (NYSE: JBX), Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI), Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE), and Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Earnings highlights: General Motors, Motorola, Disney, Sony, Visa, CBS and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 02 Aug 2008 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing bell: Bears win, non-recession GDP fails to impress

Closing bell: Bears win, non-recession GDP fails to impress originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) to Buy from Hold after the company announced further write-downs and plans to boost capital.
  
• Jefferies upgraded shares of Ansys (NASDAQ: ANSS) to Buy from Hold as they like the Ansoft (NASDAQ: ANST) acquisition and feel yesterday's sell-off creates an attractive entry point.
  
• AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan following the positive Crestor study results.

• Piper raised Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Goldman upgraded Hansen Natural (NASDAQ: HANS) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Vertex Pharma (NASDAQ: VRTX) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Wachovia and to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.

Analyst upgrades: UBS, AKAM, HANS, ANSS and AZN originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Level 3 Communications (NASDAQ: LVLT) is one of the most widely traded and widely shorted stocks of any listed on a U.S. exchange. Average daily volume in the shares is over 41 million, and shares sold short as of mid-December were over 167 million. That is tops of all companies listed on the Nasdaq.

Level 3 would appear to be in a good business. It has 50,000 miles of IP backbone to transport voice, data, and video. It provides services to the country's largest cable and telecom companies.

Level 3 has taken a beating in 2007 falling form $6.80 to just above $3. Wall Street has to wonder how it gets back toward $7.

For starters, the company has to stop making an acquisition a month. The company's Level 3's latest 10-Q lists seven deals. It is not unfair for Wall Street to be concerned about the pace of these purchases, especially since Level 3 does not make money. In the September quarter, the company had an operating loss of $53 million on revenue of $1.061 billion. Level 3 also made $138 million in interest payments on its $6.8 billion in long-term debt.

Continue reading Can Level 3 (LVLT) be fixed in 2008?

Can Level 3 (LVLT) be fixed in 2008? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 29 Dec 2007 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) was initiated with an Overweight by Thomas Weisel, which thinks the company has one of the strongest growth profiles among large-cap tech stocks.
  
• Virgin Mobile (NYSE:VM) was initated with an Overweight by Thomas Weisel, which cited the company's strong global brand and low cost base.
  
• Pacific Crest initiated VMWare (NYSE:VMW) with a Sector Perform based on the company's thin float and competitive risks.
  
• McAfee (NYSE:MFE) was reinstated with a Buy by Deutsche Bank, which believes the company is one of the best positioned security vendors due to its comprehensive security platform.

• Thomas Weisel initiated Palm (NASDAQ:PALM) with a Market Weight rating.
  
• Gabelli initated Edison International (NYSE:EIX) with a Buy rating.
  
• Bank of America initiated Akamai (NASDAQ:AKAM) with a Neutral rating.

Analyst initiations: RIMM, VM, VMW and MFE originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 Nov 2007 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• According to the Wall Street Journal's (subscription required) "Heard on the Street" column, content firms such as Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM) and Limelight Networks (NASDAQ: LLNW) are getting hammered, and there appears to be no letup in sight because while online traffic is up 60% a year over the last few years, those firm's shares are expensive and, says S&P's Scott Kessler, "There's plenty more room for [Akamai and Limelight] to fall."
• TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO) is looking at a new revenue source -- being paid to give out market research to advertisers, reported the Wall Street Journal. The company plans to announce today that it will add demographic data, including age, income, marital status and ethnicity, about its viewers.
• The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that Ford (NYSE: F) is likely to have to pay any buyer of its Jaguar and Land Rover units because of a $2B pension deficit, according to people close to the situation.

• The New York Times reported that Con Edison (NYSE: ED) was fined $18M for service disruptions in 2006, including the nine-day blackout in western Queens, NY.
• The Associated Press reported that Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) is considering listing on the Hong Kong and mainland China stock markets, according to the company's CEO.

Newspaper wrap-up: Baidu considering listing in Asia originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 Nov 2007 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.