Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) from a "sell" to a "strong sell" in a research note issued Saturday.
• Analysts are mixed—3 Buys, 7 Holds and 1 Sell—with a MarketBeat consensus rating of Hold and a $26.67 average target while shares trade near $23.63 and the company has a $1.18 billion market cap.
• Cogent beat quarterly EPS estimates (‑$0.64 vs. ‑$1.09) but revenue fell 4.7% year-over-year, margins remain negative, analysts forecast about ‑$4.55 EPS for the year, and insiders have recently sold shares.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Cogent Communications from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. KeyCorp cut their price target on Cogent Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Williams Trading set a $40.00 price target on Cogent Communications in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Cogent Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CCOI opened at $23.63 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $21.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.39. Cogent Communications has a 52-week low of $15.96 and a 52-week high of $56.88. The stock has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of -6.20 and a beta of 0.77.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The technology company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $0.45. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 842.48% and a negative net margin of 18.67%.The business had revenue of $240.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $243.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.91) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Cogent Communications will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Cogent Communications

In related news, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,850 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.63, for a total value of $109,755.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 202,750 shares in the company, valued at $4,588,232.50. This trade represents a 2.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 3,300 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total value of $75,867.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $232,199. The trade was a 24.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 12,756 shares of company stock valued at $292,467 in the last three months. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Cogent Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,362,821 shares of the technology company's stock worth $205,664,000 after buying an additional 270,975 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 177,113 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,792,000 after buying an additional 40,970 shares during the period. Arvin Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Cogent Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,301,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 123.4% during the 3rd quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 312,626 shares of the technology company's stock worth $11,989,000 after buying an additional 172,676 shares during the period. Finally, Tyro Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 46.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tyro Capital Management LLC now owns 935,287 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,868,000 after buying an additional 298,392 shares during the period. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.