Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Diamond Hill Capital Management cut its Ciena stake by 70.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 430,284 shares and leaving it with 182,577 shares valued at about $42.7 million.
• Insider selling has also been notable, with SVP Jason Phipps and CEO Gary B. Smith both selling shares in recent months; insiders sold 44,174 shares worth about $18.9 million over the last 90 days.
• Ciena’s latest quarter showed strong operating results, with EPS of $1.35 and revenue of $1.43 billion, both ahead of estimates, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with a $398.83 price target.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. cut its position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 70.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 182,577 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 430,284 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.13% of Ciena worth $42,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter valued at $4,482,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ciena by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,693 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $864,000 after buying an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ciena by 507.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,243 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $992,000 after buying an additional 3,545 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter valued at $182,000. Finally, Pinkerton Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter valued at $1,526,000. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total transaction of $9,021,337.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 68 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,866.40. The trade was a 99.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.05, for a total transaction of $1,659,171.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 272,509 shares in the company, valued at $153,163,683.45. The trade was a 1.07% decrease in their position. 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 have sold 44,174 shares of company stock valued at $18,878,661. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CIEN shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ciena from $355.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore set a $330.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $398.83.

Ciena Price Performance

CIEN stock opened at $587.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.81. Ciena Corporation has a 52 week low of $70.77 and a 52 week high of $598.84. The firm's fifty day moving average is $473.40 and its 200 day moving average is $326.32. The firm has a market cap of $83.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 374.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.24.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

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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