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 Monday . The stock had previously closed at $23.16, but opened at $16.49. Cogent Communications shares last traded at $15.3450, with a volume of 963,679 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on CCOI. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Williams Trading set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Cogent Communications from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.67.

Cogent Communications Trading Down 34.5%

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $20.75 and its 200-day moving average is $24.01. The firm has a market cap of $758.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.96 and a beta of 0.85.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The technology company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.03) by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $239.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $241.31 million. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 18.67% and a negative return on equity of 842.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.09) EPS. Analysts forecast that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently -2.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total transaction of $75,867.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,199. The trade was a 24.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 2,206 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.03, for a total value of $50,804.18. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,940.47. The trade was a 9.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,756 shares of company stock valued at $292,467. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CCOI. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Cogent Communications during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Cogent Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cogent Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,092 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. 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.