Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $19.82, but opened at $19.02. Cogent Communications shares last traded at $18.25, with a volume of 171,860 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on CCOI shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on Cogent Communications from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings lowered Cogent Communications from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Cogent Communications from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Three 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.90.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $898.89 million, a PE ratio of -5.04 and a beta of 0.85.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The technology company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $241.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($1.09) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.63, for a total value of $109,755.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 202,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,588,232.50. This trade represents a 2.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total value of $75,867.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,199. This represents a 24.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 12,756 shares of company stock worth $292,467 in the last three months. Insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 3.6% in the third quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,534 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 5.7% in the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 6,835 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 2,850 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 10.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,466 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Cogent Communications in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.45% of the company’s stock.

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.