CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong Trims Stock Holdings in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• CloudAlpha Capital Management cut its Ciena stake by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 18,390 shares and leaving it with 124,810 shares valued at about $29.2 million.
• Ciena reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $1.35 per share versus estimates of $1.17 and revenue of $1.43 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• Despite some insider selling, analyst sentiment remains upbeat: several firms raised price targets, and Ciena has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average target price of $398.83.

CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong decreased its holdings in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 124,810 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 18,390 shares during the quarter. Ciena comprises approximately 1.4% of CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong owned approximately 0.09% of Ciena worth $29,189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Ciena during the 4th quarter worth about $2,747,810,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings 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 valued at $941,451,000 after buying an additional 1,219,787 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Ciena by 10.4% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,495,795 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $284,313,000 after buying an additional 329,821 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the third quarter worth about $292,310,000. Finally, Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 48.5% in the third 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. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total transaction of $9,021,337.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 68 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,866.40. The trade was a 99.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.65, for a total value of $684,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,074,931.65. The trade was a 2.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 44,174 shares of company stock worth $18,878,661 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Ciena Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of Ciena stock opened at $541.52 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.14. Ciena Corporation has a 1 year low of $70.77 and a 1 year high of $598.84. The firm has a market cap of $76.57 billion, a PE ratio of 344.92, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $463.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $320.95.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on CIEN shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research raised shares of Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Ciena from $430.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Ciena from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $398.83.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CIEN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report).

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.