Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Stock Price Down 5.6% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) dropped 5.6% on Tuesday after B. Riley Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $516.00 to $413.00. B. Riley Financial currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Ciena traded as low as $356.40 and last traded at $361.42. 2,182,994 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average session volume of 2,866,101 shares. The stock had previously closed at $382.80.

CIEN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ciena from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Ciena from $320.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Ciena from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ciena presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $521.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ciena news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,586 shares of Ciena 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 42,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,992,499.76. The trade was a 3.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.78, for a total value of $1,321,846.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 246,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,167,313.40. This trade represents a 1.19% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,470 shares of company stock worth $9,967,521. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ciena by 71.0% in 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. Markowski Investments acquired a new stake in Ciena in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ciena by 2,100.0% in the 1st quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 88 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 57.8% during the second quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 71 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Ciena by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 154 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ciena Trading Down 5.6%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $414.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $437.16. 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 company has a market cap of $51.16 billion, a PE ratio of 120.47 and a beta of 1.30.

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

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.