The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Stock Price

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $40.00 to $25.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the technology company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 6.43% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on CCOI. Zacks Research lowered Cogent Communications from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (down from $74.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (down from $50.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $30.33.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

NASDAQ:CCOI traded down $1.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $23.49. 4,105,906 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 922,815. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06. The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.17 and a beta of 0.77. Cogent Communications has a 12 month low of $23.20 and a 12 month high of $85.37. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.58.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported ($0.87) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.28. The company had revenue of $241.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm earned ($1.33) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Cogent Communications will post -4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, August 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.99, for a total value of $88,776.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 36,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,339,038. The trade was a 6.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cogent Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 15,815 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in Cogent Communications by 3.6% during the third quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,534 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Cogent Communications by 9.7% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,497 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in Cogent Communications by 4.6% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 7,122 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 44,259 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,697,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. 92.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cogent Communications

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.