Ciena Corporation $CIEN Stock Position Lowered by SWS Partners

Key Points

• SWS Partners reduced its position in Ciena Corporation by 23.1% in Q1, now holding 28,913 shares worth approximately $1.75 million.
• Polar Capital Holdings significantly increased its stake in Ciena by 113.7% in Q4, owning over 2.1 million shares valued at about $184 million.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Ciena, with Barclays setting a target of $138.00 and JPMorgan Chase increasing theirs to $140.00.

SWS Partners lessened its position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 23.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,913 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 8,678 shares during the quarter. SWS Partners' holdings in Ciena were worth $1,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 113.7% in the 4th quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,169,406 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $183,987,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,260 shares in the last quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,356,752 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $81,989,000 after acquiring an additional 80,426 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $70,065,000. Analog Century Management LP lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Analog Century Management LP now owns 841,311 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $50,840,000 after acquiring an additional 208,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 2,044 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.64, for a total transaction of $166,872.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 47,198 shares in the company, valued at $3,853,244.72. This represents a 4.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.94, for a total transaction of $31,829.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,934,791.92. This trade represents a 0.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,769 shares of company stock worth $3,326,705. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of CIEN opened at $129.94 on Thursday. The company's fifty day moving average is $91.95 and its 200-day moving average is $78.14. Ciena Corporation has a 12 month low of $49.21 and a 12 month high of $131.40. The firm has a market cap of $18.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 133.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on CIEN shares. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $100.00 to $127.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Ciena to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. B. Riley reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $113.00 price objective (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $102.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ciena has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.32.

About Ciena

Ciena Corporation provides hardware and software services for delivery of video, data, and voice traffic metro, aggregation, and access communications network worldwide. The company's Networking Platforms segment offers convergence of coherent optical transport, open optical networking, optical transport network switching, IP routing, and switching services.

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