JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Price Target to $23.00

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) had its price target dropped by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $37.00 to $23.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the technology company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 37.51% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CCOI. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $27.00 price objective (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $23.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cogent Communications from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $33.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $25.71.

Cogent Communications Stock Down 9.5%

Shares of CCOI stock traded down $1.76 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $16.73. 1,949,528 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 955,441. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.65. The company has a market capitalization of $821.60 million, a P/E ratio of -3.69 and a beta of 0.77. Cogent Communications has a fifty-two week low of $16.52 and a fifty-two week high of $85.18.

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

Cogent Communications announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, August 7th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cogent Communications

In related news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.99, for a total transaction of $88,776.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 36,200 shares in the company, valued at $1,339,038. This trade represents a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.34, for a total value of $51,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,656.08. This trade represents a 19.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,800 shares of company stock valued at $212,692. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cogent Communications

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in Cogent Communications by 1.4% in the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 15,815 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,534 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Cogent Communications by 9.7% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,497 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in Cogent Communications by 4.6% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 7,122 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 0.8% in the third quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 44,259 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,697,000 after buying an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.45% of the company’s stock.

About Cogent Communications

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.