Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Stock Price Down 5.8% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Cogent Communications stock fell 5.8% in Thursday trading, closing around $20.38 after trading as low as $20.76, with volume well below average.
• The company announced a $225 million data center sale to I Squared Capital, which could strengthen its cash position and support its push into AI inference infrastructure.
• Sentiment has softened as analysts cut price targets and Zacks lowered earnings estimates for several future periods, while insiders have also been selling shares recently.

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) traded down 5.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $20.76 and last traded at $20.3760. 247,356 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 1,198,315 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.62.

More Cogent Communications News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cogent Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cogent agreed to sell a data center to I Squared Capital for $225 million, a move that could unlock cash and support its push into AI inference infrastructure. I Squared bets on AI inference with $225 million data center buy from Cogent
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful shares reported short, so there is little evidence of a bearish positioning change from that metric.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research lowered its earnings outlook across several periods, including FY2026, FY2027, FY2028 and multiple quarterly estimates, signaling weaker expected profitability ahead for Cogent Communications. This kind of broad estimate trimming can weigh on sentiment for CCOI.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CCOI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $22.00 target price (down from $23.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Cogent Communications from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.90.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $19.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.72 and a beta of 0.85.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The technology company reported ($0.83) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by $0.20. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 17.53% and a negative return on equity of 842.48%. The business had revenue of $239.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $241.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.09) earnings per share. Cogent Communications's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -3.92 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Cogent Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -2.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cogent Communications

In other Cogent Communications news, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.63, for a total transaction of $109,755.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total transaction of $75,867.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $232,199. This trade represents a 24.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 12,756 shares of company stock worth $292,467 over the last three months. 4.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cogent Communications

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 7.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 312,050 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 77.9% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 108,875 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,051,000 after acquiring an additional 47,668 shares during the last quarter. FourWorld Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $5,002,000. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $319,000. Finally, Granahan Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 46.3% in the 1st quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 317,447 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,981,000 after acquiring an additional 100,422 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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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