Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Akamai Technologies, Inc. (AKAM)

With the third-quarter round of 13F filings behind us it is time to take a look at the stocks in which some of the best money managers in the world preferred to invest or sell heading into the fourth quarter. One of these stocks was Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM).

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) investors should pay attention to a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds recently. At the end of this article we will also compare AKAM to other stocks including Macerich Co (NYSE:MAC), Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (NYSE:PAA), and CA, Inc. (NASDAQ:CA) to get a better sense of its popularity.

To most shareholders, hedge funds are perceived as underperforming, old investment vehicles of yesteryear. While there are more than 8000 funds trading at the moment, Our researchers choose to focus on the top tier of this group, about 700 funds. These investment experts preside over the majority of all hedge funds’ total capital, and by keeping track of their top equity investments, Insider Monkey has spotted numerous investment strategies that have historically outperformed Mr. Market. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points per annum for a decade in their back tests.

With all of this in mind, let’s take a gander at the recent action surrounding Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM).

How are hedge funds trading Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM)?

At the end of the third quarter, a total of 37 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of -5% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially (or already accumulated large positions).

According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Blue Harbour Group, managed by Clifton S. Robbins, holds the largest position in Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM). Blue Harbour Group has an $256.9 million position in the stock, comprising 8% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Philippe Laffont of Coatue Management, with an $174.3 million position; the fund has 2% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other members of the smart money that are bullish contain Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management, David Goel and Paul Ferri’s Matrix Capital Management and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Since Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) has faced bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there exists a select few hedge funds that elected to cut their positions entirely by the end of the third quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Stanley Druckenmiller’s Duquesne Capital said goodbye to the largest investment of all the hedgies watched by Insider Monkey, worth about $24.8 million in stock, and Jim Chanos’s Kynikos was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $6.2 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds by the end of the third quarter.

Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM). These stocks are Macerich Co (NYSE:MAC), Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (NYSE:PAA), CA, Inc. (NASDAQ:CA), and Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE). This group of stocks’ market valuations are closest to AKAM’s market valuation.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 21.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $278 million. That figure was $964 million in AKAM’s case. CA, Inc. (NASDAQ:CA) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (NYSE:PAA) is the least popular one with only 16 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.