JPMorgan Chase & Co. Downgrades Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) to Neutral

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Cogent Communications from Overweight to Neutral and kept a $22 price target, implying about 11% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst sentiment on CCOI is mixed overall, with the stock carrying a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $24.90 across Wall Street coverage.
• Cogent recently reported better-than-expected EPS but slightly missed revenue estimates, while insiders have also been selling shares and the stock remains well below its 52-week high.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday. They presently have a $22.00 price target on the technology company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price indicates a potential upside of 11.00% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Cogent Communications from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Williams Trading set a $40.00 target price on Cogent Communications in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Cogent Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Cogent Communications from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $24.90.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

Shares of CCOI stock opened at $19.82 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.74 and a 200-day moving average of $21.10. Cogent Communications has a one year low of $14.82 and a one year high of $54.37. The stock has a market cap of $992.59 million, a PE ratio of -5.58 and a beta of 0.85.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last posted 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $241.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.09) EPS. Cogent Communications's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications will post -3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 3,300 shares of the 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 owned 10,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $232,199. This represents a 24.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.35, for a total value of $56,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 41,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $957,350. This trade represents a 5.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 12,756 shares of company stock worth $292,467 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cogent Communications

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCOI. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cogent Communications by 208.6% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications during the third quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 313.9% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,486 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 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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