Is Fastly Stock a Buy After Carlson Investments Initiated a Position Worth $3.5 Million?
Key Points
Carlson Investments acquired 213,025 shares; estimated transaction value of $3.50 million based on quarterly average price.
The trade represents a 0.6% increase in 13F reportable assets under management (AUM).
The stake accounts for 1.06% of fund AUM, placing it outside the fund's top five holdings.
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What happened
According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing dated May 13, 2026, Carlson Investments initiated a new position in Fastly (NASDAQ:FSLY), acquiring 213,025 shares in the first quarter.
The estimated value of this transaction is $3.5 million, based on the mean unadjusted close of Fastly stock during the first quarter of 2026. The position was valued at $6.19 million at quarter end, reflecting both the purchase and subsequent price movement.
What else to know
- This is a new position, representing 1.06% of Carlson Investments’ 13F reportable AUM as of March 31, 2026.
- Top holdings after the filing:
- NYSEMKT: SCHB: $65.06 million (11.2% of AUM)
- NYSEMKT: GVI: $54.20 million (9.3% of AUM)
- NASDAQ: AAPL: $22.29 million (3.8% of AUM)
- NYSEMKT: AVDE: $21.06 million (3.6% of AUM)
- NASDAQ: GOOGL: $21.04 million (3.6% of AUM)
- As of May 12, 2026, Fastly shares were priced at $19.03, up 134.9% over the past year, outperforming the S&P 500 by 108.3 percentage points.
Company overview
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Revenue (TTM) | $652.57 million |
| Net Income (TTM) | ($103.05 million) |
| Price (as of market close May 12, 2026) | $19.03 |
| One-Year Price Change | 134.94% |
Company snapshot
- Fastly offers an edge cloud platform, including Compute@Edge, security solutions, content delivery, and streaming services, primarily generating revenue from usage-based and subscription models.
- It operates a scalable Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) business model, enabling developers and enterprises to build, secure, and deliver digital experiences at the edge of the internet.
- The company serves customers across digital publishing, media and entertainment, technology, online retail, travel, hospitality, and financial services sectors.
Fastly, Inc. is a technology company specializing in edge cloud infrastructure, enabling low-latency, secure delivery of web and application content globally. The company leverages a programmable platform and advanced security features to support mission-critical workloads for enterprise clients.
Fastly's focus on developer-centric solutions and edge security positions it as a key player in the evolving cloud and content delivery ecosystem.
What this transaction means for investors
The first quarter purchase of Fastly stock by Carlson Investments is a notable event. The buy represents a new stake, and it happened at a time when Fastly shares had risen from a 52-week low of $6.29 reached in 2025.
The action suggests the advisory firm had a bullish outlook towards Fastly when it made the Q1 buy. Since then, the move has already paid off as shares soared to a 52-week high of $34.82 in April.
The rising stock price was due to Fastly’s strong business performance. In Q1, the company reported record revenue of $173 million, which represents 20% year-over-year growth.
Fastly speeds up websites and apps for visitors, and gets paid based on the amount of data it processes as a result. With the rise of AI bots, such as ChatGPT, scouring the internet for information, the increased activity is boosting income. The company also provides cybersecurity services, which saw impressive 47% year-over-year growth in Q1.
Because the stock price took off in Q2, Fastly shares are no longer the bargain they were when Carlson Investments made its purchase. Investors interested in picking up the stock may want to wait for a drop in price first.
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Robert Izquierdo has positions in Alphabet and Apple. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, and Fastly. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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