Cogent Communications' (CCOI) Underweight Rating Reiterated at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan reiterated its “underweight” rating on Cogent Communications and cut its price target to $9 from $22, implying roughly 11% downside from the stock’s $10.13 opening price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans cautious: Cogent has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $19.55, while shares have fallen 5.8% and trade near their 52-week low.
• Recent results were mixed, with quarterly EPS of $1.38 beating estimates but revenue of $235.56 million missing forecasts and declining 4.4% year over year; two company executives also recently sold shares.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "underweight" rating reissued by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $9.00 target price on the technology company's stock, down from their prior target price of $22.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would suggest a potential downside of 11.15% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Cogent Communications from $25.00 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Cogent Communications from $18.00 to $14.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group set a $9.00 price objective on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $18.00 to $12.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.55.

Cogent Communications Stock Down 5.8%

Shares of Cogent Communications stock opened at $10.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $518.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.55 and a beta of 0.80. Cogent Communications has a 52-week low of $9.00 and a 52-week high of $45.69. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $12.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.87.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The technology company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.00) by $2.38. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 842.48% and a negative net margin of 4.73%.The firm had revenue of $235.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.21) earnings per share. Cogent Communications's quarterly revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications will post -2.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.01, for a total transaction of $40,824.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 38,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $656,586. This trade represents a 5.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.79, for a total value of $81,431.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 197,900 shares in the company, valued at $3,322,741. This trade represents a 2.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 4.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cogent Communications

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Cogent Communications during the second quarter worth $26,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Cogent Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,685,000. Shrier Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Cogent Communications by 33.1% during the 2nd quarter. Shrier Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,453 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 5,835 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cogent Communications by 208.6% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the technology company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 968 shares during the period. Finally, Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Cogent Communications by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,348,897 shares of the technology company's stock worth $81,933,000 after buying an additional 312,050 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.45% of the company's stock.

About Cogent Communications

Cogent Communications NASDAQ: CCOI is a multinational Internet service provider specializing in high-speed Internet access and data transport services. The company operates one of the largest Tier 1 IP networks in the world, offering wholesale and enterprise customers reliable, low-latency connectivity. Cogent's core services include dedicated Internet access, Ethernet transport, wavelength services, and MPLS-based IP Virtual Private Networks, all delivered over its privately owned, fiber-optic backbone.

In addition to network connectivity, Cogent provides data center colocation and managed services designed to support businesses with demanding bandwidth and redundancy requirements.

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