Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Cuts Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC significantly reduced its holdings in Ciena Corporation by 69.0%, now owning 9,552 shares valued at approximately $577,000.
• Several other institutional investors increased their stakes in Ciena, with Captrust Financial Advisors expanding its position by 60.3%, contributing to a majority ownership of 91.99% by institutional investors.
• Equities research analysts are optimistic about Ciena, with target prices elevated by firms like Rosenblatt Securities and JPMorgan Chase & Co., suggesting a consensus target price of $114.32.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC trimmed its position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 69.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,552 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 21,265 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Ciena were worth $577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of CIEN. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 60.3% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 12,745 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,081,000 after buying an additional 4,794 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,804 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,680,000 after buying an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at about $727,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at about $96,000. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 33,995 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,946,000 after buying an additional 3,359 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.94, for a total value of $31,829.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,934,791.92. The trade was a 0.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 2,044 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.64, for a total transaction of $166,872.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 47,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,853,244.72. This represents a 4.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 39,769 shares of company stock worth $3,326,705. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Northland Securities set a $100.00 target price on Ciena in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Ciena from $100.00 to $127.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. B. Riley restated a "neutral" rating and set a $113.00 price objective (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ciena from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.32.

Ciena Stock Performance

CIEN stock opened at $132.72 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $92.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.50. Ciena Corporation has a 12-month low of $49.21 and a 12-month high of $134.31. The firm has a market cap of $18.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 136.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 3.28, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

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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