Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $22.50, but opened at $21.85. Cogent Communications shares last traded at $21.69, with a volume of 126,356 shares trading hands.

Specifically, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.35, for a total transaction of $56,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 41,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $957,350. The trade was a 5.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were 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 owned 202,750 shares in the company, valued at $4,588,232.50. The trade was a 2.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In other news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 10,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $232,199. The trade was a 24.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on CCOI. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $23.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Williams Trading set a $40.00 price target on Cogent Communications in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cogent Communications from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, February 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.78.

Cogent Communications Stock Down 3.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.04. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.73 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.86.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The technology company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $0.45. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 842.48% and a negative net margin of 18.67%.The firm had revenue of $240.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.91) earnings per share. Cogent Communications’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Cogent Communications

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cogent Communications in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position 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 during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications during the second quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cogent Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Cogent Communications

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.