Ciena Corporation $CIEN Stock: Atlatl Advisers LLC Trims Holdings

Key Points

• Atlatl Advisers LLC cut its Ciena stake by 86.1% in the third quarter, retaining 1,668 shares valued at approximately $587,000. Despite the sale, institutional investors collectively own 91.99% of Ciena.
• Ciena insiders sold 36,014 shares worth about $13.46 million over the past 90 days, including sales by CEO Gary Smith and EVP Brodie Gage under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• Ciena reported quarterly earnings of $2.11 per share and revenue of $1.67 billion, beating estimates and increasing revenue 37% year over year. The stock opened at $320.37, while analysts maintained a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $485.93.

Atlatl Advisers LLC lowered its position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 86.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,668 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 10,308 shares during the period. Atlatl Advisers LLC's holdings in Ciena were worth $587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CIEN. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Ciena by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 25,097 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $8,830,000 after buying an additional 3,179 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in Ciena by 14.1% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 9,601 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $3,378,000 after buying an additional 1,183 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ciena by 22.8% in the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,675 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $589,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 23.9% in the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 767 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 105.5% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 19,192 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $6,752,000 after acquiring an additional 9,854 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other Ciena news, EVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.08, for a total transaction of $412,896.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 34,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,723,837.84. This trade represents a 3.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.02, for a total value of $1,027,355.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 225,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $78,462,849.10. This trade represents a 1.29% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,014 shares of company stock valued at $13,457,571. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Ciena Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE CIEN opened at $320.37 on Friday. Ciena Corporation has a one year low of $168.22 and a one year high of $637.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.51, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a current ratio of 3.80. The company's 50 day moving average price is $368.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $437.64.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.38. Ciena had a return on equity of 25.33% and a net margin of 10.87%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 37.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 6.00 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CIEN shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ciena from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 17th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ciena from $475.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ciena from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ciena has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $485.93.

Ciena Company Profile

Ciena Corporation NYSE: CIEN is a networking technology company that provides hardware, software, and services for communications networks. Its solutions help telecommunications carriers, cloud providers, enterprises, government organizations, and research institutions build, manage, and automate high-capacity networks.

The company's portfolio includes optical networking systems, routing and switching platforms, network automation software, and network management tools. Ciena also offers consulting, implementation, maintenance, and professional services designed to support network planning, deployment, optimization, and ongoing operations.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.