Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Key Points

• Cogent Communications shares fell sharply, gapping down from a prior close of $19.82 to an open of $19.02 and last trading around $18.25, down about 9.4% on the day.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: brokerages have recently cut price targets, and the stock now carries an average rating of “Hold” with an average price target of $24.90.
• Recent earnings showed mixed results, with EPS of -$0.83 beating estimates but revenue of $239.19 million missing forecasts and falling 3.2% year over year; the company also announced a small quarterly dividend of $0.02 per share.

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $19.82, but opened at $19.02. Cogent Communications shares last traded at $18.25, with a volume of 171,860 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on CCOI. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Williams Trading set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cogent Communications from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Cogent Communications from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cogent Communications has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.90.

Cogent Communications Stock Down 9.4%

The firm has a market cap of $898.89 million, a PE ratio of -5.04 and a beta of 0.85. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $19.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.10.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The technology company reported ($0.83) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.03) by $0.20. The business had revenue of $239.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $241.31 million. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 17.53% and a negative return on equity of 842.48%. The business's revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.09) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Cogent Communications's dividend payout ratio is -2.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cogent Communications news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total value of $75,867.00. Following the sale, the director directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 on 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,756 shares of company stock valued at $292,467. 4.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CCOI. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in Cogent Communications by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,534 shares of the technology company's stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH grew its holdings in Cogent Communications by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 6,835 shares of the technology company's stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its holdings in Cogent Communications by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 2,850 shares of the technology company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Cogent Communications by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,466 shares of the technology company's stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Cogent Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. 92.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cogent Communications Company Profile

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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