Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Stock Jumps 6.4% – Time to Buy?

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) shot up 6.4% on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $9.88 and last traded at $9.9050. Approximately 411,632 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 1,432,826 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CCOI. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Cogent Communications from $18.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Cogent Communications from $25.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group set a $9.00 price target on Cogent Communications in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Cogent Communications from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.55.

Cogent Communications Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $512.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.43 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.86 and a 200-day moving average of $14.53.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The technology company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.00) by $2.38. The firm had revenue of $235.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.55 million. The company’s revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.21) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently -8.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Thaddeus Weed sold 4,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.37, for a total value of $45,444.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 193,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,808,878.50. This trade represents a 2.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cogent Communications

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CCOI. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 7.7% in the first quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,348,897 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $81,933,000 after acquiring an additional 312,050 shares during the last quarter. Harspring Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Cogent Communications by 60.3% during the fourth quarter. Harspring Capital Management LLC now owns 1,402,500 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,238,000 after purchasing an additional 527,500 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Group LLC boosted its position in Cogent Communications by 3.5% during the first quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 1,290,204 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $24,307,000 after purchasing an additional 43,867 shares during the last quarter. Newtyn Management LLC grew its stake in Cogent Communications by 3.5% in the second quarter. Newtyn Management LLC now owns 1,655,895 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $22,984,000 after purchasing an additional 55,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Granahan Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Cogent Communications by 46.3% in the first quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 317,447 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,981,000 after purchasing an additional 100,422 shares in the last quarter. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cogent Communications Company Profile

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc provides high-speed Internet connectivity and data communications services to businesses, carriers, Internet service providers and other organizations. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Cogent Communications, the company operates an Internet Protocol (IP) network designed to support the transmission of data across metropolitan, national and international routes.

The company’s service offerings include dedicated Internet access, IP transit, Ethernet transport, virtual private network services and colocation.