HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC cut its Ciena stake by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,719 shares and ending with 17,376 shares valued at about $4.06 million.
• Ciena posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.35 beating estimates and revenue of $1.43 billion topping forecasts; revenue also rose 33.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $406.61, though recent opinions have ranged from neutral to overweight.

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 21.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,376 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 4,719 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Ciena were worth $4,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Ciena by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Ciena by 104.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ciena during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 42.5% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 312 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of CIEN stock opened at $580.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $82.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 369.80, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.24. The business's fifty day moving average is $500.69 and its 200 day moving average is $341.74. Ciena Corporation has a twelve month low of $70.77 and a twelve month high of $605.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total value of $9,021,337.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 68 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,866.40. This represents a 99.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,074,931.65. The trade was a 2.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 44,174 shares of company stock valued at $18,878,661 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CIEN shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on Ciena in a research note on Friday, May 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $416.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised Ciena from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $406.61.

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.