Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Sold by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management cut its Ciena stake by 67.2% in the first quarter, selling 20,584 shares and leaving it with 10,046 shares worth about $3.9 million.
• Ciena’s latest earnings topped expectations, with quarterly EPS of $1.64 versus $1.46 estimated and revenue of $1.57 billion, up 39.5% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with 13 Buy ratings and 7 Hold ratings; the stock’s average price target is $530.56, while several firms recently raised their targets.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 67.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,046 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 20,584 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Ciena were worth $3,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Pacific Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 1st quarter valued at $98,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in Ciena by 53.6% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 169 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Ciena by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 13,558 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $5,264,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. EWA LLC acquired a new position in Ciena in the 1st quarter valued at about $245,000. Finally, Broad Peak Investment Advisers Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Ciena in the 1st quarter valued at about $9,434,000. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 5th. 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $405.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on Ciena from $283.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned 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 Price Performance

Ciena stock opened at $461.48 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $517.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $387.95. The stock has a market cap of $65.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 153.83 and a beta of 1.27. Ciena Corporation has a 12-month low of $76.89 and a 12-month high of $637.51.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.18. Ciena had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 7.87%.The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. Ciena's revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.65, for a total transaction of $684,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,941 shares in the company, valued at $25,074,931.65. The trade was a 2.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Marc D. Graff sold 126 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.36, for a total value of $56,619.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 127,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $57,105,118.16. The trade was a 0.10% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,120 shares of company stock valued at $8,872,766. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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