Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $26.31, but opened at $22.30. Cogent Communications shares last traded at $18.0960, with a volume of 674,188 shares traded.

Key Stories Impacting Cogent Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting Cogent Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat consensus — Cogent reported a smaller loss (GAAP EPS of -$0.64) that was better than Street expectations, and the year‑over‑year EPS trend improved vs. last year, which can be a near‑term positive for earnings outlook. PR Newswire: Q4 & Full Year Results
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual call‑option buying — extremely high call volume suggests some traders were placing bullish bets or hedges, which can create asymmetric upside interest and intraday volatility. Article: Unusually High Options Volume
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials and call transcript available — management released the press release, slide deck and an earnings‑call transcript (useful for details on guidance, churn, customers and cost actions). These provide context but are neutral until investors parse guidance and commentary. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data in feeds appears inconsistent/erroneous (entries show 0 shares / NaN changes) — current short‑interest figures should be treated with caution until exchanges/reporting firms correct the data. (No actionable link — data feed anomaly reported in aggregated entries.)
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed estimates and is down year‑over‑year — service revenue fell slightly vs. the prior quarter and was below consensus for Q4; full‑year service revenue also declined vs. 2024, raising growth concerns for a company valued as a network services provider. Zacks: Q4 Loss, Revenue Lags
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities‑law investigations announced — at least two law firms have opened probes into whether Cogent or certain executives made misleading statements, which typically increases legal/settlement risk and investor uncertainty. GlobeNewswire: RGRD Investigation Newsfile: Johnson Fistel Notice
• Negative Sentiment: Headlines and heavy selling pressure — mainstream headlines characterized the drop sharply and NASDAQ trading showed a large volume spike, driving negative sentiment and momentum selling beyond fundamentals. MSN: Why Shares Are Getting Obliterated

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on CCOI. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. 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 note on Thursday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Cogent Communications from $37.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price target (down from $50.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Friday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.71.

Cogent Communications Stock Down 29.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.06. The stock has a market cap of $912.65 million, a P/E ratio of -4.88 and a beta of 0.81.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The technology company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $0.45. The company had revenue of $240.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.82 million. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 19.72% and a negative return on equity of 208.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.91) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 EPS for the current year.

Cogent Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Cogent Communications’s payout ratio is currently -1.96%.

Insider Transactions at Cogent Communications

In other news, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.34, for a total value of $81,360.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $391,890.78. This trade represents a 17.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cogent Communications

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in Cogent Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Cogent Communications by 80.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 313.9% during the 4th 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. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 333.7% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,557 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares during the period. 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.