Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Trading Down 3.1% – What’s Next?

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) traded down 3.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $422.49 and last traded at $428.9240. 2,513,931 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 2,951,541 shares. The stock had previously closed at $442.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CIEN shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ciena from $372.00 to $607.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ciena from $405.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on Ciena from $350.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on Ciena from $283.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Ciena from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $530.56.

Ciena Stock Down 3.1%

The firm has a market cap of $60.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 142.97 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $424.42 and its 200 day moving average is $425.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 7.87%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.10, for a total transaction of $559,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,921,580.10. The trade was a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total transaction of $739,599.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 42,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,992,499.76. This trade represents a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,475 shares of company stock worth $8,164,824. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ciena

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CIEN. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Ciena by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 445,359 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $104,156,000 after purchasing an additional 155,712 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 31,161 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 3,156 shares in the last quarter. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ciena by 164.0% in the fourth quarter. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. now owns 660,988 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $154,585,000 after buying an additional 410,588 shares during the period. TKG Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena in the first quarter worth $3,244,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 7.0% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 413,332 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $160,468,000 after buying an additional 26,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

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.