Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Sold by Systematic Financial Management LP

Key Points

• Systematic Financial Management LP cut its Ciena stake by 56.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 21,331 shares and leaving it with 16,669 shares valued at about $3.9 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with several funds adding to Ciena positions and about 91.99% of the stock held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Ciena after recent target hikes; the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating and a consensus price target of $398.83.

Systematic Financial Management LP reduced its stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 56.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,669 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 21,331 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP's holdings in Ciena were worth $3,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CIEN. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,747,810,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the third quarter valued at about $292,310,000. Atreides Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the second quarter valued at about $102,705,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 23.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,462,840 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $941,451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 2,174.2% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,143,855 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $166,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,557 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CIEN shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Ciena from $430.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $398.83.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CIEN opened at $583.65 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $478.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $329.09. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $70.77 and a 52-week high of $599.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 371.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.18. Ciena had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Ciena's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $116,909,971.15. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total value of $2,025,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 46,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,105. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 44,174 shares of company stock valued at $18,878,661 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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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