Marc Graff Sells 4,995 Shares of Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Stock

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) CFO Marc Graff sold 4,995 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.72, for a total value of $2,151,446.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 107,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,310,583.68. This represents a 4.44% decrease in their position. The transaction 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.

Ciena Stock Down 9.0%

Shares of CIEN stock traded down $40.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $405.03. 3,050,073 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,952,043. The stock has a market cap of $57.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 135.01 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $424.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $428.37. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $84.41 and a 52-week high of $637.51. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.18. The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CIEN shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ciena from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $320.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Ciena from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup lifted their target price 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. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Ciena from $350.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $525.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ciena by 71.0% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in Ciena by 2,100.0% during the first quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 88 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ciena by 57.8% during the second quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 71 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Ciena by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 154 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Ciena by 635.7% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 103 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.