Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Trading 7.3% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI)’s share price shot up 7.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $17.90 and last traded at $17.6870. 141,446 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 1,198,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.48.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CCOI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective (down from $23.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cogent Communications from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.40.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $20.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.28. The company has a market capitalization of $878.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.94 and a beta of 0.85.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The technology company reported ($0.83) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.03) by $0.20. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 17.53% and a negative return on equity of 842.48%. 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) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -3.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -2.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cogent Communications news, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.63, for a total value of $109,755.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 202,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,588,232.50. The trade was a 2.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total transaction of $75,867.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,199. This trade represents a 24.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 12,756 shares of company stock valued at $292,467 in the last ninety days. 4.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cogent Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CCOI. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 968 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in Cogent Communications in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Cogent Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Cogent Communications by 313.9% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,486 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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.