Report by 280First

Since there are always reasons when companies change the wording in their financial filings, being alerted to these changes allows investors to realise potential risk factors and opportunities before they are reflected in the market. Recent alerts include: 1) Akamai - ongoing competition, pricing pressure, DIY, alternative sourcing strategies. 2) Align - increased competition? Customs investigations? 3) Arista Networks - more benign competitive and market conditions. 4) Bruker - covenant concerns. 5) Celanese - greater than usual year-end destocking in Q4. 6) Jazz Pharmaceuticals - caution on ability to maintain or increase sales.

Technology

Report by AnteData

Akamai and CyberArk are showing strong momentum in developer interest, according to AnteData’s coding activity data. Repositories related to the two companies’ software platforms are frequently forked and starred - clear signals of rising popularity and adoption among developers. This surge aligns with growing Google search interest and reflects their central role in securing the infrastructure that powers the AI boom. In general, AnteData’s coding activity shows that security companies focused on protecting communication layers - like AKAM, Cloudflare and CYBR - are outperforming those focused purely on asset protection, such as Tenable or CrowdStrike. Evidently, in this new wave of Machine-to-Machine communication, speed, security and connectivity matter more than ever.

Technology

Report by ETR

ETR’s latest survey reveals that spend within Networking has further deteriorated with 12% of respondents planning to decrease spend on the company in 2H23, up from 10% (Apr 23) and only 3% in the year-ago period. Expected spend on Linode (AKAM’s cloud computing acquisition) has fallen even further to a 0% Net Score, which places it in the lowly 23rd percentile of the Cloud Computing sector. Replacements of Linode have nearly tripled to 11%, up from 4% at the beginning of the year - putting it in the 91st percentile within the sector. While spending intent within Information Security was a bright spot in this survey, the large decline in ETR’s previous survey has likely yet to play out completely.

Technology

Report by Paragon Intel

New CEO Rick McConnell will profitably scale DT to a multi-billion dollar company - former colleagues describe McConnell as the perfect fit for the job because of his industry expertise and track record scaling businesses (Akamai and Cisco). Well versed in finance, product and go-to-market strategy, he will grow DT's business from $1bn to $5bn+. Unlike many of its high-valuation software peers, DT’s valuation reflects sustainable 30% revenue growth, 25% EBIT margins and strong >30% FCF margins. Forecasts EPS to increase 44%-65% from FY22-FY24, materially ahead of current estimates.