Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Sold by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management cut its stake in Ciena by 73.7%, selling 50,650 shares in Q4 and leaving 18,119 shares valued at $4.24 million, while institutional investors collectively own about 91.99% of the company.
• Company insiders sold 42,974 shares worth roughly $16.6 million last quarter — including CEO Gary B. Smith and SVP Jason Phipps — in transactions executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, leaving insiders with just 0.58% ownership.
• Ciena reported a beat with $1.35 EPS and revenue up 33.1% year-over-year, is supported by a backlog near $7 billion, and carries a broker consensus of Moderate Buy with an average price target around $358.94 as the stock recently hit record highs.

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lessened its holdings in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 73.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,119 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 50,650 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Ciena were worth $4,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in 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 during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in 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 during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth $292,310,000. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. raised its stake 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 worth $288,864,000 after buying an additional 648,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake 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 worth $267,593,000 after buying an additional 130,507 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on CIEN. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on Ciena in a research note on Friday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $416.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ciena from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $358.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ciena news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total transaction of $1,226,585.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 281,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,909,971.15. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total value of $9,021,337.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 68 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,866.40. The trade was a 99.69% decrease in their position. 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 quarter, insiders have sold 42,974 shares of company stock worth $16,615,505. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Ciena Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of Ciena stock opened at $536.28 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $414.44 and its 200-day moving average is $290.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.83 billion, a PE ratio of 341.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ciena Corporation has a 12-month low of $70.67 and a 12-month high of $550.00.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Ciena News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ciena this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/industry bullishness: Seeking Alpha highlights a surging backlog (now ~$7B) and accelerating backlog-to-cash conversion that supports revenue and cash-flow growth, arguing CIEN is well positioned for hyperscaler AI demand. Ciena Corp.: Buy As Backlog To Cash Is Rolling
• Positive Sentiment: Sector buy call: Zacks includes CIEN among communication-component stocks to tap the rally from 5G, fiber and AI tailwinds, reinforcing investor interest in the group. Buy 2 Communication Component Stocks to Tap Recent Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment and momentum: Broker consensus is around "Moderate Buy" and the stock recently hit a record high on the NYSE Composite, signaling strong market momentum and institutional interest. Ciena Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" Ciena Hits Record High
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer/company-news signal: Coverage of Lumentum's upcoming Q3 frames broad industry demand for optics and AI-driven revenue growth — a positive sector signal for Ciena but not direct company news. Lumentum Q3 Earnings Loom
• Neutral Sentiment: ETF/flow context: Mentions of CIEN in mid-cap/smart-beta ETF coverage may support passive demand but are a secondary factor vs. direct earnings/backlog news. Is FNX a Strong ETF Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Celebrity pundit caution: Jim Cramer publicly said CIEN is "a little too hot" and that he'd "hold off," which can sap conviction among retail traders and short-term momentum despite strong fundamentals. Jim Cramer on Ciena Jim Cramer on Ciena: “I’m Going to Have to Hold Off”

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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