Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Sold by Atreides Management LP

Atreides Management LP lowered its position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 52.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 676,807 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 751,423 shares during the quarter. Ciena makes up about 5.3% of Atreides Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Atreides Management LP owned approximately 0.48% of Ciena worth $262,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CIEN. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ciena by 71.0% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Ciena by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 154 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 635.7% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 103 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ciena Trading Down 7.2%

NYSE CIEN opened at $350.05 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $470.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $412.04. Ciena Corporation has a 52 week low of $84.41 and a 52 week high of $637.51. The company has a market cap of $49.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 116.68 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.83, for a total transaction of $1,383,986.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 254,886 shares in the company, valued at $119,498,203.38. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.10, for a total transaction of $559,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,921,580.10. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 21,627 shares of company stock worth $10,974,985 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $405.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Argus set a $650.00 target price on Ciena in a report on Friday, June 5th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $530.56.

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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