Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $18.16, but opened at $20.15. Cogent Communications shares last traded at $19.18, with a volume of 351,726 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CCOI shares. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Williams Trading set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 price objective (down from $23.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cogent Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.90.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.68 and its 200-day moving average is $21.28. The stock has a market cap of $979.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.51 and a beta of 0.85.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last announced its earnings results 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. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 17.53% and a negative return on equity of 842.48%. The firm had revenue of $239.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $241.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.09) earnings per share. Cogent Communications’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -3.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -2.25%.

Insider Activity at Cogent Communications

In other Cogent Communications news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of Cogent Communications 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 transaction, the vice president owned 41,000 shares in the company, valued at $957,350. This trade represents a 5.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 2,206 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.03, for a total transaction of $50,804.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,940.47. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 12,756 shares of company stock worth $292,467 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cogent Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,580,271 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $120,311,000 after purchasing an additional 217,450 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 64.9% in the 3rd quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,603,933 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $176,561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811,222 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,070,132 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $44,632,000 after purchasing an additional 132,454 shares during the last quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cogent Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $30,380,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,402,612 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $53,790,000 after purchasing an additional 399,339 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.45% of the company’s stock.

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.