Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 7,419,016 shares, an increase of 22.1% from the February 12th total of 6,074,190 shares. Currently, 16.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,019,124 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,019,124 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 16.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.63, for a total transaction of $109,755.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 202,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,588,232.50. This represents a 2.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.35, for a total value of $56,040.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 41,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $957,350. The trade was a 5.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,756 shares of company stock worth $292,467. 10.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CCOI. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Cogent Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Cogent Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Cogent Communications by 80.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 313.9% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,486 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 333.7% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,557 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares during the last quarter. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cogent Communications Stock Down 4.2%

CCOI stock opened at $18.80 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $22.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.36. Cogent Communications has a 12 month low of $15.96 and a 12 month high of $71.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $941.13 million, a P/E ratio of -4.93 and a beta of 0.84.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The technology company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.09) by $0.45. The company had revenue of $240.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.82 million. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 18.67% and a negative return on equity of 842.48%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.91) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications will post -4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Cogent Communications’s payout ratio is presently -2.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Williams Trading set a $40.00 price target on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Three equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.78.

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.