UBS Group Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI)

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reiterated by UBS Group in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $27.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $50.00. UBS Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 14.94% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Cogent Communications from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Cogent Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Cogent Communications from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (down from $74.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $30.33.

Cogent Communications Trading Down 5.9%

Shares of CCOI stock opened at $23.49 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $39.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.34. Cogent Communications has a twelve month low of $23.20 and a twelve month high of $85.37. The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.17 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported ($0.87) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by $0.28. The business had revenue of $241.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $246.13 million. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 117.56% and a negative net margin of 21.57%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.33) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Cogent Communications will post -4.55 EPS for the current year.

Cogent Communications declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, August 7th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Cogent Communications

In related news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.35, for a total transaction of $72,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $364,117.95. This trade represents a 16.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.99, for a total transaction of $88,776.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 36,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,339,038. The trade was a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cogent Communications

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CCOI. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Cogent Communications during the third quarter worth $6,510,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Cogent Communications by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,362,821 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $205,664,000 after acquiring an additional 270,975 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 369.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 539,770 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,700,000 after acquiring an additional 424,746 shares during the period. Herald Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 16.9% during the third quarter. Herald Investment Management Ltd now owns 242,600 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,304,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Cogent Communications by 28.1% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 185,402 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,110,000 after acquiring an additional 40,706 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, through its subsidiaries, provides high-speed Internet access, private network, and data center colocation space services in North America, Europe, Oceania, South America, and Africa. The company offers on-net Internet access and private network services to law firms, financial services firms, and advertising and marketing firms, as well as heath care providers, educational institutions and other professional services businesses, other Internet service providers, telephone companies, cable television companies, web hosting companies, media service providers, mobile phone operators, content delivery network companies, and commercial content and application service providers.