Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Trading 11.3% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Cogent Communications shares jumped 11.3% on Monday, rising to as high as $15.48 after closing at $14.19 the previous day.
• Analysts remain cautious: several firms recently cut price targets, and the stock now has an average Wall Street rating of Hold with an average price target of $24.90.
• The company’s latest earnings showed a smaller-than-expected loss of $0.83 per share versus estimates for a $1.03 loss, though revenue of $239.19 million missed forecasts and was down 3.2% year over year.

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 11.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $15.48 and last traded at $15.80. Approximately 407,631 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 1,187,350 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CCOI shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Cogent Communications from $23.00 to $18.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Cogent Communications from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Cogent Communications from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cogent Communications presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.90.

Cogent Communications Trading Up 5.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $751.50 million, a PE ratio of -4.23 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $18.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.82.

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, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by $0.20. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 842.48% and a negative net margin of 17.53%.The company had revenue of $239.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $241.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.09) earnings per share. Cogent Communications's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Cogent Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cogent Communications news, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.79, for a total transaction of $81,431.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 197,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,322,741. This represents a 2.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.01, for a total value of $40,824.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 38,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $656,586. This represents a 5.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 4.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CCOI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Cogent Communications by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,362,821 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $205,664,000 after acquiring an additional 270,975 shares during the period. Arvin Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Cogent Communications in the third quarter valued at $2,301,000. Tyro Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $35,868,000 after purchasing an additional 298,392 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 172,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Cogent Communications by 795.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 68,025 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 60,428 shares during the period. 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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