GameStop, Nvidia, Akamai Are S&P 500 Gainers

These stocks are rising midday Wednesday.

Author:: Alexandra Zendrian
Publish date:: Feb 8, 2012 11:39 AM EST

NEW YORK (

TheStreet

) -- Shares of

GameStop

(GME) - Get Report

Akamai

(AKAM) - Get Report

and

Nvidia

(NVDA) - Get Report

were among the best

S&P 500

performers midday Wednesday.

The S&P 500 fell 4.2 points midday Wednesday to 1,342.85.

Shares of GameStop increased 3.92% to $24.66. The video game retailer announced Wednesday its first-ever dividend of 15 cents a share. The dividend is payable on March 12.

"We have achieved our goal of eliminating debt and are pleased to return excess cash to our shareholders," Executive Chairman Dan DeMatteo said in a statement. "The board's decision to initiate a dividend reflects GameStop's strong capital position and demonstrates our confidence in the long term viability of our business."

The stock hit a 52-week high of $28.65 on May 24. The stock's 52-week low of $18.35 was set on Aug. 18.

GameStop has an estimated price-to-earnings ratio for next year of 8.06; the average among specialty retailers is 19.88. For comparison,

RadioShack

(RSH)

has a forward P/E of 9.68 and

OfficeMax's

(OMX)

is 10.31.

Of the 18 analysts who cover the company, 11 rated it a buy. Five analysts considered GameStop a hold and two rated it a sell.

TheStreet Ratings

gives GameStop a B grade with a buy rating and

$30.54

price target. The stock has risen 3.44% year to date.

Shares of Akamai rose 2.17% to $34.38. The Internet content delivery company announced that it acquired front-end optimization technology provider

Blaze Software

on Wednesday in a cash transaction. Further terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

Shares of Akamai hit a 52-week high of $49.38 on Feb. 9. The stock's 52-week low of $18.25 was set on Oct. 4.

Akamai has a forward P/E of 21.2; the average among Internet companies is 23.63. For comparison,

IAC/InterActiveCorp

(IACI)

and

j2 Global

(JCOM) - Get Report

both have lower forward P/Es of 14.32 and 11.25, respectively.

Of the 25 analysts who cover Akamai, 14 rated it a hold. Nine analysts gave the stock a buy rating and two considered it a sell.

TheStreet Ratings

gives Akamai a B- grade with a buy rating and

$37.34

price target. The stock has increased 7.01% year to date.

Shares of Nvidia increased 3.05% to $16.22. The graphics computing company signed a patent licensing agreement with technology licensing company

Rambus

on Wednesday. Both companies settled all of their outstanding claims including prior usage or Rambus' patented items.

Nvidia's stock reached a 52-week high of $26.01 on Feb. 17, 2011. The stock's 52-week low of $11.47 was set on Oct. 4, 2011.

Nvidia has a forward P/E of 15.35; the average among semiconductor companies is 17.26. For comparison,

Applied Materials

(AMAT) - Get Report

and

Analog Devices

(ADI) - Get Report

both have lower forward P/Es of 10.98 and 14.71, respectively.

Of the 34 analysts who cover Nvidia, 19 rated it a hold. Thirteen analysts gave the stock a buy rating and two considered it a sell.

TheStreet Ratings

gives Nvidia a B- grade with a buy rating and

$20.02

price target. The stock has risen 16.96% year to date.

Other top

S&P 500

performers midday Wednesday include:

Computer Sciences (CSC) : Shares rose 19.52% Wednesday to $31.65. The stock has risen 33.54% year to date. It gets a D+ grade from TheStreet Ratings and a sell rating.
Cerner (CERN) - Get Report: Shares increased 12.81% to $70.59. The stock has risen 15.24% year to date. It gets an A- grade from TheStreet Ratings with a buy rating and $80.93 price target.
Ralph Lauren (RL) - Get Report: Shares rose 9.35% to $171.75. The stock has increased 24.46% year to date. It gets an A- grade from TheStreet Ratings with a buy rating and $200.81 price target.
Hartford Financial (HIG) - Get Report: Shares increased 7.69% to $20.59. The stock rose 26.95% year to date. It gets a C grade from TheStreet Ratings and a hold rating.