Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 1,942 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio decreased its stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 45,282 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,942 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Ciena were worth $17,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CIEN. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 358 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ciena by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,107 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 71.0% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ciena from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on Ciena in a report on Friday, May 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $416.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Ciena from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $530.56.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of CIEN stock opened at $389.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 129.98 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $477.15 and its 200 day moving average is $409.28. Ciena Corporation has a 12 month low of $84.41 and a 12 month high of $637.51.

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. Ciena had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 7.87%.The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In other news, CFO Marc D. Graff sold 126 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total value of $58,741.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 126,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,186,421. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total transaction of $739,599.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 90 days, insiders sold 21,627 shares of company stock valued at $10,974,985. Company 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.