Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Trading Down 6.6% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Cogent Communications shares fell 6.6% on Monday, trading as low as $12.50 after closing at $13.41 the prior session, with volume well below normal.
• Analysts have turned more cautious, with several firms cutting price targets and one lowering its rating; the stock now has a consensus Hold and an average target price of $24.90.
• The company recently reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss per share, but revenue still declined 3.2% year over year and earnings remain deeply negative, while insiders have also been selling shares.

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) shares fell 6.6% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $12.50 and last traded at $12.5190. Approximately 355,689 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 1,211,597 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut 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 lowered Cogent Communications from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cogent Communications has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.90.

Cogent Communications Trading Down 3.2%

The firm has a market cap of $649.79 million, a P/E ratio of -3.67 and a beta of 0.77. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $18.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.61.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 842.48% and a negative net margin of 17.53%.The business had revenue of $239.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $241.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.09) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.02 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently -2.25%.

Insider Transactions at Cogent Communications

In other news, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.79, for a total transaction of $81,431.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly 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. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the company'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. The trade was a 5.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP bought a new position in Cogent Communications in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Cogent Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 208.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 313.9% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,486 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Cogent Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $104,000. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by 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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