Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Trading Down 5.4% – Time to Sell?

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) shares dropped 5.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $12.34 and last traded at $12.2350. Approximately 353,236 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 1,232,469 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CCOI has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Cogent Communications from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Cogent Communications from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Cogent Communications from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.90.

Cogent Communications Stock Up 2.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $626.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.53 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.71.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $239.19 million for 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 last year, the business earned ($1.09) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.25 EPS for the current year.

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors 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 was Monday, May 18th. Cogent Communications’s payout ratio is presently -2.25%.

Insider Activity at Cogent Communications

In other Cogent Communications news, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 197,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,322,741. This represents a 2.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 38,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $656,586. This trade represents a 5.85% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cogent Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCOI. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 208.6% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Cogent Communications in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Cogent Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Cogent Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.