Cogent Communications Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:CCOI)

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 66,622 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 6,288% compared to the average daily volume of 1,043 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.34, for a total value of $81,360.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $391,890.78. This trade represents a 17.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Man Group plc boosted its stake in Cogent Communications by 2,685.1% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 326,168 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,032,000 after acquiring an additional 314,457 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Cogent Communications during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Park West Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cogent Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $30,380,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $743,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Cogent Communications by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 51,298 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,106,000 after buying an additional 11,362 shares during the period. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Cogent Communications from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $23.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $33.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (down previously from $50.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Friday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cogent Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.71.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

Shares of CCOI traded up $1.56 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.35. 428,622 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 856,198. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.95 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.42 and a 200 day moving average of $30.41. Cogent Communications has a one year low of $15.96 and a one year high of $84.06.

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.