Atlatl Advisers LLC Sells 2,245 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Atlatl Advisers LLC cut its Ciena stake by 32.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,245 shares and leaving it with 4,638 shares worth about $1.085 million.
• Insider selling has been notable, with SVP Jason Phipps and SVP Brodie Gage both selling shares; insiders sold 44,174 shares worth about $18.9 million over the last 90 days.
• Analysts remain mostly bullish on Ciena, with several raising price targets and the stock carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average target of $398.83.

Atlatl Advisers LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 32.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,638 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 2,245 shares during the quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC's holdings in Ciena were worth $1,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CIEN. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Ciena by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Ciena by 104.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total value of $9,021,337.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 68 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,866.40. The trade was a 99.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total value of $2,025,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 46,341 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,105. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 44,174 shares of company stock valued at $18,878,661 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on CIEN shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Ciena from $430.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $398.83.

Ciena Price Performance

CIEN opened at $583.65 on Tuesday. Ciena Corporation has a 12-month low of $70.77 and a 12-month high of $599.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $483.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $331.92. The company has a market capitalization of $82.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 371.75, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.18. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. The business's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ciena 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.

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