Citigroup Lowers Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Price Target to $25.00

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) had its price target reduced by stock analysts at Citigroup from $33.00 to $25.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the technology company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price indicates a potential upside of 21.77% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $40.00 target price (down from $74.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (down from $50.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $65.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $29.00.

Cogent Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CCOI traded down $1.59 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $20.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,636,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 934,027. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.31. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.54 and a beta of 0.77. Cogent Communications has a fifty-two week low of $20.55 and a fifty-two week high of $85.18.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported ($0.87) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by $0.28. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 117.56% and a negative net margin of 21.57%.The company had revenue of $241.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $246.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.33) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Cogent Communications declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, August 7th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Cogent Communications

In related news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.35, for a total transaction of $72,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,017 shares in the company, valued at $364,117.95. This represents a 16.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.99, for a total transaction of $88,776.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 36,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,339,038. The trade was a 6.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cogent Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCOI. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Cogent Communications in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Cogent Communications by 297.8% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 740 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV bought a new position in Cogent Communications during the first quarter worth about $48,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in Cogent Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Cogent Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. 92.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cogent Communications Company Profile

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides high-speed Internet access, private network, and data center colocation space services in North America, Europe, Oceania, South America, and Africa. The company offers on-net Internet access and private network services to law firms, financial services firms, and advertising and marketing firms, as well as heath care providers, educational institutions and other professional services businesses, other Internet service providers, telephone companies, cable television companies, web hosting companies, media service providers, mobile phone operators, content delivery network companies, and commercial content and application service providers.