Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) Shares Sold by North Growth Management Ltd.

North Growth Management Ltd. trimmed its position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 429,000 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 29,000 shares during the quarter. Ciena makes up approximately 5.5% of North Growth Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. North Growth Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.30% of Ciena worth $25,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Ciena by 108.6% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Ciena by 73.7% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 356 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Ciena by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,459 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $887,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in Ciena by 1.1% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 16,649 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ciena by 77.2% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 420 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ciena Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE CIEN opened at $74.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.54 billion, a PE ratio of 103.55, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.11. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $44.89 and a 52-week high of $101.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.57 and a current ratio of 3.40.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.08). Ciena had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 5.08%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.60, for a total value of $25,410.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,331,105.80. This trade represents a 0.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 18,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.88, for a total transaction of $1,131,013.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 89,258 shares in the company, valued at $5,344,769.04. This represents a 17.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,138 shares of company stock valued at $3,517,997 over the last ninety days. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on CIEN shares. Barclays set a $100.00 price target on Ciena and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, June 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ciena from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. Northland Capmk upgraded Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Ciena from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $83.15.

Ciena Company Profile

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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