Internet Infrastructure HOLDRS (AMEX: IIH) was among the steepest decliners in exchange traded funds Thursday with a loss of nearly 5% amid a sell-off in a top holding, Akamai (NasdaqGS: AKAM).
Akamai shares plunged nearly 15% in the final hour of trading Thursday.
PowerShares QQQ (Nasdaq: NasdaqGM: QQQ) was flat in recent trading after quarterly results from Akamai and eBay (NasdaqGS: EBAY).
Investors sold Akamai shares after the company offered guidance that disappointed Wall Street.
“The company pointed to the continued effect of contract re-pricings of several large customers in the December quarter as a limiting factor for June quarter expectations,” wrote analysts at Dougherty & Co. in a note Thursday.
They stuck with their buy rating Thursday despite the carnage in the stock.
“We believe the first quarter results are consistent with our thesis that Akamai is a uniquely positioned Internet Infrastructure provider with several large growth vectors available to it,” Dougherty analysts said. “We continue to look for seasonal strength in the back half of the calendar year to bring year-over year growth to 16%. We reiterate our buy recommendation on Akamai Technologies, and our 12-month price-target of $56.”
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