Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Stock Price Up 6% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Cogent Communications shares rose 6% on Wednesday, trading as high as $12.26 after closing at $11.65, though volume was far below average.
• Analysts have generally turned cautious on the stock: several firms recently cut price targets, and the consensus rating remains Hold with a $24.90 target.
• The company recently reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss of $0.83 per share, but revenue fell 3.2% year over year and analysts expect full-year EPS of -4.25.

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $12.26 and last traded at $12.3510. 100,841 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 1,236,232 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CCOI shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cogent Communications from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $23.00 to $18.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cogent Communications has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $24.90.

Cogent Communications Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $16.58 and a 200 day moving average of $20.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $629.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.53 and a beta of 0.80.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The technology company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.03) by $0.20. The business had revenue of $239.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $241.31 million. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 17.53% and a negative return on equity of 842.48%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.09) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Cogent Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently -2.25%.

Insider Transactions at Cogent Communications

In other Cogent Communications news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.01, for a total value of $40,824.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 38,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $656,586. This trade represents a 5.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 owned 197,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,322,741. This represents a 2.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cogent Communications

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 968 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 7.7% in the first quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,348,897 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $81,933,000 after purchasing an additional 312,050 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in Cogent Communications by 77.9% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 108,875 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 47,668 shares during the last quarter. FourWorld Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cogent Communications during the first quarter worth about $5,002,000. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Cogent Communications during the first quarter worth about $319,000. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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