Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) CEO Sells $1,019,184.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Ciena CEO Gary Smith sold 6,800 shares of the company’s stock for a total of $1,019,184, reducing his ownership by 2.35%.
• Recent analyst ratings have generally been positive, with substantial upgrades including upgrades from hold to buy and price targets raised to as high as $152.00.
• The company's stock has seen significant trading activity, closing at $152.81, and has a market capitalization of $21.56 billion.

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) CEO Gary Smith sold 6,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $1,019,184.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 282,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,276,651.60. The trade was a 2.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Ciena Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Ciena stock traded up $1.09 during trading on Thursday, hitting $152.81. 2,280,193 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,387,792. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 157.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.14. Ciena Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.21 and a 1-year high of $153.61. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $109.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.28 and a quick ratio of 2.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ciena from $78.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research raised Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ciena from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Ciena from $120.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.86.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CIEN. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 534 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 636 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 9,162.5% during the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 741 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 107.5% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 718 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,147 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ciena

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.

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