Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Decreases Stake in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. trimmed its stake in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 48.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,312 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 23,186 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Ciena were worth $2,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CIEN. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 108.6% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ciena by 328.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 364 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 73.7% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 356 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ciena by 77.2% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 420 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Ciena during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CIEN. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays set a $100.00 target price on Ciena and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on Ciena from $73.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $89.00 price target (down from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.62.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of CIEN stock traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $81.22. The company had a trading volume of 1,271,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,025,856. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.06 and a 200-day moving average of $74.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a current ratio of 3.55. The company has a market capitalization of $11.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 142.49, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.11. Ciena Co. has a 12-month low of $44.69 and a 12-month high of $101.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ciena news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.16, for a total value of $31,556.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,435,601.52. The trade was a 0.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 18,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.88, for a total transaction of $1,131,013.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 89,258 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,344,769.04. The trade was a 17.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,138 shares of company stock valued at $3,439,211. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ciena Profile

Ciena Corporation provides hardware and software services for delivery of video, data, and voice traffic metro, aggregation, and access communications network worldwide. The company's Networking Platforms segment offers convergence of coherent optical transport, open optical networking, optical transport network switching, IP routing, and switching services.