Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 43.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 306,512 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 234,992 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Ciena were worth $71,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Ciena by 23.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,462,840 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $941,451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,787 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Ciena by 10.4% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,495,795 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $284,313,000 after purchasing an additional 329,821 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in Ciena during the third quarter valued at $292,310,000. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Ciena by 48.5% during the third quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,983,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $288,864,000 after purchasing an additional 648,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its position in Ciena by 7.6% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,836,981 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $267,593,000 after purchasing an additional 130,507 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ciena Price Performance

Ciena stock opened at $554.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $454.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $315.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.37 billion, a PE ratio of 353.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ciena Corporation has a 12-month low of $70.77 and a 12-month high of $598.84.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.18. Ciena had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total value of $2,025,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 46,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,105. The trade was a 9.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.53, for a total transaction of $1,061,332.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 293,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,372,490.52. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,974 shares of company stock valued at $17,418,863. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on CIEN. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Ciena from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Ciena from $430.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ciena has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $381.44.

Ciena Company Profile

Ciena Corporation (NYSE: CIEN) is a global supplier of telecommunications networking equipment, software and services. The company develops high-capacity optical transport systems and packet-optical platforms that enable service providers, cloud operators and large enterprises to build, manage and scale their networks. Ciena’s product portfolio includes coherent optical solutions, packet networking platforms and a suite of network automation software designed to optimize bandwidth, reduce latency and simplify network operations.

In addition to hardware offerings, Ciena provides professional services and support, including network design, implementation and ongoing maintenance.