Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Stock Price Down 5.8% – Should You Sell?

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI)’s share price dropped 5.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $20.76 and last traded at $20.3760. Approximately 247,356 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 1,198,315 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.62.

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 to I Squared Capital for $225 million, a move that could unlock cash and support its push into AI inference infrastructure. I Squared bets on AI inference with $225 million data center buy from Cogent
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful shares reported short, so there is little evidence of a bearish positioning change from that metric.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research lowered its earnings outlook across several periods, including FY2026, FY2027, FY2028 and multiple quarterly estimates, signaling weaker expected profitability ahead for Cogent Communications. This kind of broad estimate trimming can weigh on sentiment for CCOI.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on CCOI shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Cogent Communications from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $23.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.90.

Cogent Communications Trading Down 6.2%

The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of -5.72 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 posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The technology company reported ($0.83) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.03) by $0.20. The business had revenue of $239.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $241.31 million. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 17.53% and a negative return on equity of 842.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.09) EPS. Analysts expect that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cogent Communications

In other Cogent Communications news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total transaction of $75,867.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,199. This trade represents a 24.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 2,206 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director directly owned 20,449 shares in the company, valued at $470,940.47. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,756 shares of company stock worth $292,467. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CCOI. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cogent Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $202,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 26.9% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 10.3% in the 1st 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 grew its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 23.4% in the 1st 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 purchased a new position in shares of Cogent Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $104,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.