Riverwater Partners LLC Trims Stake in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Riverwater Partners LLC lowered its position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 66.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,683 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 13,374 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC’s holdings in Ciena were worth $1,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CIEN. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 50.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 104.0% in the third quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 42.5% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 312 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Trading Up 2.1%

CIEN stock opened at $443.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.79 billion, a PE ratio of 147.85 and a beta of 1.24. Ciena Corporation has a 12 month low of $71.52 and a 12 month high of $637.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $520.89 and its 200 day moving average is $363.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.11.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CIEN. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Ciena from $320.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Northland Securities set a $450.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ciena from $405.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $530.56.

Key Headlines Impacting Ciena

Here are the key news stories impacting Ciena this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Northland Securities raised its earnings estimates for Ciena, lifting its Q3 2026 EPS view to $1.44, Q4 2026 EPS to $1.51, and FY2026 EPS to $5.39, which is above the broader consensus of $5.14. Northland raises Ciena estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Colt and Ciena announced a record quantum-safe transatlantic data transmission, highlighting demand for Ciena’s high-speed networking and encryption technology. Quantum-safe transatlantic transmission announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary around Ciena’s strong free cash flow and AI-driven demand suggests the company has room to fund growth while still supporting shareholder returns. Zacks free cash flow article
• Neutral Sentiment: Ciena closed an upsized $2.875 billion offering of 0.00% convertible senior notes, a move that strengthens the balance sheet and funds strategic flexibility, but also introduces potential future dilution if converted. Convertible notes closing announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor commentary continues to frame Ciena as a beneficiary of AI/networking spending, reinforcing a constructive long-term narrative for the stock. TipRanks article on capital structure
• Negative Sentiment: The large convertible debt offering may weigh on sentiment because investors could view it as a sign of future share dilution or a more complex capital structure, even if the financing is low-cost. Convertible notes closing announcement

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other Ciena news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total transaction of $1,226,585.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 281,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,909,971.15. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total transaction of $2,025,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 46,341 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,105. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,174 shares of company stock valued at $19,502,359. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

About Ciena

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.