Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Sold by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Key Points

• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS cut its Ciena stake by 7.0% in the first quarter, though it still held 32,811 shares valued at about $12.7 million.
• Ciena reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $1.64 beating estimates and revenue of $1.57 billion topping expectations; revenue also rose 39.5% year over year.
• Analysts remain upbeat on the stock, with several firms raising price targets and the consensus view sitting at Moderate Buy with an average target of $530.56.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS reduced its stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,811 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 2,487 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's holdings in Ciena were worth $12,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Ciena by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 31,161 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 3,156 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ciena by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 445,359 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $104,156,000 after buying an additional 155,712 shares during the period. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ciena by 164.0% in the 4th quarter. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. now owns 660,988 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $154,585,000 after buying an additional 410,588 shares during the period. TKG Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ciena during the first quarter worth about $3,244,000. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS grew its position in shares of Ciena by 1,095.8% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 27,527 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $6,438,000 after buying an additional 25,225 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CIEN opened at $445.18 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $506.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $400.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.01 billion, a PE ratio of 148.39 and a beta of 1.27. Ciena Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $76.89 and a fifty-two week high of $637.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.73.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 7.87%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.10, for a total value of $559,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,921,580.10. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,586 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total transaction of $739,599.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 42,872 shares in the company, valued at $19,992,499.76. This represents a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,827 shares of company stock worth $11,541,133. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CIEN. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ciena from $285.00 to $508.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $530.56.

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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