Convergence Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Convergence Investment Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 23.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,251 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,272 shares during the quarter. Ciena accounts for 1.1% of Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Ciena were worth $6,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ciena in the 1st quarter worth about $395,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Ciena by 139.6% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,253 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 3,061 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Ciena by 1.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 222,054 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $13,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,117 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Ciena by 14.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,762 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Ciena in the second quarter valued at about $234,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ciena Stock Performance

NYSE CIEN opened at $378.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $53.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.10 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company’s 50 day moving average is $491.11 and its 200-day moving average is $405.90. Ciena Corporation has a 12-month low of $83.20 and a 12-month high of $637.51.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Ciena had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. Ciena’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CIEN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Ciena from $350.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Ciena from $320.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Northland Securities set a $450.00 target price on Ciena in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $615.00 target price on Ciena in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ciena from $405.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $530.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ciena news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.65, for a total value of $684,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,941 shares in the company, valued at $25,074,931.65. This trade represents a 2.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.05, for a total value of $1,659,171.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 272,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $153,163,683.45. The trade was a 1.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 21,627 shares of company stock worth $10,974,985 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Ciena 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.