Cogent Communications Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money of late.
In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of indicators shareholders can use to track publicly traded companies. A duo of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can beat the broader indices by a significant margin (see just how much).
Just as important, positive insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the financial markets. As the old adage goes: there are a number of incentives for an insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a gander at the recent action surrounding Cogent Communications Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI).
How are hedge funds trading Cogent Communications Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI)?
In preparation for this year, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -7% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly.
According to our comprehensive database, Malcolm Fairbairn’s Ascend Capital had the biggest position in Cogent Communications Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI), worth close to $16 million, accounting for 0.7% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Shannon River Fund Management, managed by Spencer M. Waxman, which held a $15 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedgies that are bullish include Drew Cupps’s Cupps Capital Management, Joseph A. Jolson’s Harvest Capital Strategies and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.
Because Cogent Communications Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) has witnessed falling interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there were a few money managers who were dropping their full holdings last quarter. At the top of the heap, John Kleinheinz’s Kleinheinz Capital Partners dropped the biggest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, comprising an estimated $12 million in stock., and Christopher Pucillo of Solus Alternative Asset Management was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $1 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds last quarter.
How are insiders trading Cogent Communications Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time frame, Cogent Communications Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 7 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Cogent Communications Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI). These stocks are Neustar Inc (NYSE:NSR), Premiere Global Services, Inc. (NYSE:PGI), Telecom Argentina S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TEO), Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE:VG), and Oi SA (ADR) (NYSE:OIBR). This group of stocks are the members of the diversified communication services industry and their market caps match CCOI’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Neustar Inc (NYSE:NSR) | 13 | 0 | 1 |
| Premiere Global Services, Inc. (NYSE:PGI) | 9 | 0 | 2 |
| Telecom Argentina S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TEO) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE:VG) | 14 | 0 | 7 |
| Oi SA (ADR) (NYSE:OIBR) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
With the returns shown by Insider Monkey’s research, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Cogent Communications Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) is an important part of this process.
