Benjamin Edwards Inc. Sells 6,526 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. cut its stake in Ciena by 42.3%
• Corporate insiders have been selling: CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares for roughly $1.59 million under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, and insiders sold 42,974 shares (~$17.4 million) over the past 90 days, while insiders own just 0.58% of the stock.
• Ciena recently beat estimates (Q EPS $1.35 vs. $1.17; revenue $1.43B, +33.1% YoY), the stock trades near its 1‑year high with a market cap of $81.6B and a high P/E (~367), and the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with divergent analyst price targets (consensus $367.56; some banks raised targets to $550).

Benjamin Edwards Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 42.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,915 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 6,526 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Ciena were worth $2,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,462,840 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $941,451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,787 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,495,795 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $284,313,000 after acquiring an additional 329,821 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $292,310,000. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 48.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,983,000 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $288,864,000 after buying an additional 648,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,836,981 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $267,593,000 after buying an additional 130,507 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $537.74, for a total transaction of $1,587,408.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $148,126,398.14. This trade represents a 1.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.79, for a total value of $566,148.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 45,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,297,072.39. This represents a 2.59% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,974 shares of company stock valued at $17,418,863. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ciena Trading Up 5.9%

Shares of Ciena stock opened at $576.78 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $423.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $296.70. Ciena Corporation has a 1 year low of $70.77 and a 1 year high of $583.78. The company has a market capitalization of $81.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 367.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.14.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CIEN. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, May 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $416.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Ciena from $355.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $367.56.

Ciena Company 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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