Amundi Sells 52,475 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Amundi reduced its Ciena position by 10.8% in the first quarter, selling 52,475 shares and retaining 431,232 shares valued at approximately $167.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 91.99% of Ciena.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $530.56 price target; recent targets range from $490 to $720.
• Ciena reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $1.64 per share versus the $1.46 estimate and revenue of $1.57 billion, up 39.5% year over year. Insiders have sold 18,675 shares worth approximately $9.4 million over the past three months.

Amundi cut its position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 10.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 431,232 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 52,475 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned 0.30% of Ciena worth $167,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ciena in the first quarter valued at about $395,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Ciena by 139.6% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,253 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 3,061 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ciena by 1.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 222,054 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $13,419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,117 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Ciena by 14.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,762 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, CFO Marc D. Graff sold 126 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total value of $58,741.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 126,955 shares in the company, valued at $59,186,421. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.10, for a total value of $559,320.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 42,741 shares in the company, valued at $19,921,580.10. The trade was a 2.73% 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 three months, insiders sold 18,675 shares of company stock worth $9,387,576. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CIEN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus set a $650.00 price objective on Ciena in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ciena from $405.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Ciena from $320.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Ciena from $350.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $530.56.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of Ciena stock opened at $371.37 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $461.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $413.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 123.79 and a beta of 1.27. Ciena Corporation has a 52 week low of $84.41 and a 52 week high of $637.51.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

About Ciena

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.

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