Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $18.16, but opened at $20.15. Cogent Communications shares last traded at $19.18, with a volume of 351,726 shares trading hands.

Trending Headlines about Cogent Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cogent agreed to sell a data center business for $225 million to I Squared, a transaction tied to growth in AI inference demand and one that could help Cogent unlock value and improve its balance sheet. I Squared bets on AI inference with $225 million data center buy from Cogent
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed 0 shares reported short as of May 28, which suggests no meaningful change in bearish positioning, though the data appears unusual and may not be informative.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research lowered FY2026 EPS estimates for Cogent Communications, signaling weaker expected profitability in the near term.
• Negative Sentiment: The firm also cut FY2027 EPS estimates, implying analysts expect continued earnings pressure beyond this year.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional estimate reductions for Q2 2026, Q3 2026, Q4 2026, Q2 2027, Q3 2027, Q4 2027, Q1 2028, and FY2028 point to a softer earnings outlook overall, which can weigh on the shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CCOI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $23.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Cogent Communications from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Cogent Communications from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Williams Trading set a $40.00 target price on Cogent Communications in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on Cogent Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cogent Communications has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.90.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $995.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.60 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.13.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The technology company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.03) by $0.20. The company had revenue of $239.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $241.31 million. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 17.53% and a negative return on equity of 842.48%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.09) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -3.92 EPS for the current year.

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Cogent Communications’s payout ratio is -2.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 2,206 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.03, for a total transaction of $50,804.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,449 shares in the company, valued at $470,940.47. The trade was a 9.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.35, for a total transaction of $56,040.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 41,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $957,350. This trade represents a 5.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,756 shares of company stock valued at $292,467. 4.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cogent Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Cogent Communications during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Cogent Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cogent Communications by 208.6% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 968 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Cogent Communications by 313.9% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,486 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Cogent Communications during the first quarter worth about $104,000. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cogent Communications Company Profile

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.