Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Shares Down 6.2% – Time to Sell?

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) fell 6.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $432.80 and last traded at $434.8680. 890,633 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 3,090,007 shares. The stock had previously closed at $463.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CIEN. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ciena from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Ciena from $470.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, May 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $416.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ciena from $405.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $530.56.

Ciena Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $61.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 145.43 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $521.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $366.77. 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 announced its 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. Ciena had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 7.87%.The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Ciena news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $565.92, for a total transaction of $1,670,595.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 269,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $152,547,697.44. The trade was a 1.08% 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, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.65, for a total transaction of $684,780.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,074,931.65. This trade represents a 2.66% 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. Insiders sold a total of 41,222 shares of company stock valued at $18,441,027 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ciena

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC raised its stake in Ciena by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC now owns 1,142 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 358 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,107 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 71.0% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.