Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) Shares Sold by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lessened its stake in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 61.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,783 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 35,664 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Ciena were worth $1,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CIEN. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Ciena by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,459 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $887,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 959,831 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $81,403,000 after buying an additional 4,315 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,129,000. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR bought a new stake in Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $380,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Stock Down 0.3%

Ciena stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $72.24. The stock had a trading volume of 2,765,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,080,150. Ciena Co. has a 52 week low of $44.89 and a 52 week high of $101.44. The company has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 126.74, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.72. The business's 50 day moving average price is $70.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.93.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 4.72% and a net margin of 2.09%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ciena Co. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target (up from $89.00) on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, June 6th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Ciena from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ciena from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $85.00 target price on Ciena in a research note on Friday, June 6th. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ciena presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.15.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP David M. Rothenstein sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.93, for a total transaction of $199,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 202,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,175,434.10. This represents a 1.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.54, for a total transaction of $404,872.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 375,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,367,987.20. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,788 shares of company stock valued at $3,431,319 in the last ninety days. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.