Ciena Corporation $CIEN Stock Sold by Jackson Square Capital LLC

Jackson Square Capital LLC reduced its stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 53.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,737 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,206 shares during the quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC’s holdings in Ciena were worth $963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Ciena in the 2nd quarter valued at $404,948,000. Swiss National Bank raised its position in Ciena by 7.0% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 413,332 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $160,468,000 after acquiring an additional 26,900 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Ciena by 10.7% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 321,825 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $124,942,000 after acquiring an additional 31,098 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Ciena by 24.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 266,384 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $93,719,000 after acquiring an additional 52,382 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Ciena by 309.8% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 223,203 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $86,509,000 after acquiring an additional 168,736 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CIEN traded up $14.72 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $347.45. 1,617,235 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,894,509. The stock has a market cap of $49.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.67, a PEG ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 3.80, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Ciena Corporation has a twelve month low of $159.56 and a twelve month high of $637.51. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $376.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $440.79.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 25.33%. The firm’s revenue was up 37.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 6.00 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on CIEN. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Ciena from $508.00 to $394.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 4th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, CL King set a $347.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.11.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In other Ciena news, Director Thomas Nevens sold 3,738 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.04, for a total value of $1,342,091.52. Following the sale, the director owned 6,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,258,002.56. This represents a 37.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jason Phipps sold 2,629 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.19, for a total transaction of $933,794.51. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 57,388 shares in the company, valued at $20,383,643.72. This trade represents a 4.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 34,814 shares of company stock valued at $13,044,675 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ciena Company Profile

Ciena Corporation (NYSE: CIEN) is a networking technology company that provides hardware, software, and services for communications networks. Its solutions help telecommunications carriers, cloud providers, enterprises, government organizations, and research institutions build, manage, and automate high-capacity networks.

The company’s portfolio includes optical networking systems, routing and switching platforms, network automation software, and network management tools. Ciena also offers consulting, implementation, maintenance, and professional services designed to support network planning, deployment, optimization, and ongoing operations.