Convergence Investment Partners LLC Has $6.70 Million Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Convergence Investment Partners cut its Ciena stake by 23.4% in Q1, though it still held 17,251 shares valued at about $6.7 million. Ciena remained its 16th-largest position and about 1.1% of its portfolio.
• Ciena’s latest earnings beat expectations, with quarterly EPS of $1.64 versus the $1.46 estimate and revenue of $1.57 billion topping forecasts. Revenue rose 39.5% year over year.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on the stock despite a recent downgrade from Weiss Ratings, with analysts’ consensus at Moderate Buy and an average price target of $530.56. Insider selling was also notable, including recent share sales by the CEO and an SVP under pre-arranged trading plans.

Convergence Investment Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 23.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 17,251 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 5,272 shares during the period. Ciena accounts for approximately 1.1% of Convergence Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Convergence Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Ciena were worth $6,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC now owns 1,142 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Ciena by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in Ciena by 9.5% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 358 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ciena by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,107 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,194,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Ciena by 71.0% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CIEN has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ciena from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Argus set a $650.00 price objective on Ciena in a report on Friday, June 5th. Northland Securities set a $450.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ciena presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $530.56.

Ciena Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $378.31 on Tuesday. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $83.20 and a 52-week high of $637.51. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $491.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $405.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.73. The firm has a market cap of $53.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.10 and a beta of 1.27.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 18.15%. Ciena's quarterly revenue was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,629 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total transaction of $1,225,639.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 62,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,082,488.40. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.83, for a total transaction of $1,383,986.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 254,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,498,203.38. This trade represents a 1.14% 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 a total of 21,627 shares of company stock valued at $10,974,985 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ciena Company 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.

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