Royal Bank Of Canada Lowers Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Price Target to $22.00

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) had its price objective reduced by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector perform” rating on the technology company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.89% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Cogent Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cogent Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Cogent Communications Stock Performance

Cogent Communications stock opened at $20.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.25 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.99. Cogent Communications has a 52 week low of $15.96 and a 52 week high of $70.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $240.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.82 million. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 842.48% and a negative net margin of 18.67%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.91) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cogent Communications news, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.63, for a total value of $109,755.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 202,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,588,232.50. This trade represents a 2.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.35, for a total transaction of $56,040.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 41,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $957,350. The trade was a 5.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,756 shares of company stock worth $292,467. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cogent Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cogent Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 26.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 476,513 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,215,000 after buying an additional 100,969 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 10.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,466 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 23.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 161,791 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,919,000 after buying an additional 30,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Cogent Communications in the first quarter valued at $104,000. 92.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.