Jackson Square Capital LLC Sells 3,206 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Jackson Square Capital cut its Ciena stake by 53.9% in the third quarter, selling 3,206 shares and retaining 2,737 shares valued at approximately $963,000.
• Institutional investors own nearly 92% of Ciena, while insiders sold 34,814 shares worth about $13.0 million over the past three months.
• Ciena shares rose 4.4% to $347.45, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $2.11 and revenue of $1.67 billion, beating estimates; analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $506.11 target price.

Jackson Square Capital LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 53.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,737 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 3,206 shares during the quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC's holdings in Ciena were worth $963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CIEN. Markowski Investments purchased a new position in Ciena in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in Ciena by 2,100.0% during the 1st quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 88 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ciena by 57.8% in the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 71 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Ciena by 635.7% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 103 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,586 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.52, for a total transaction of $568,612.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,186,636.40. This trade represents a 3.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bruce L. Claflin sold 2,857 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.91, for a total transaction of $1,016,834.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,279 shares in the company, valued at $2,946,578.89. The trade was a 25.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 34,814 shares of company stock valued at $13,044,675. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ciena Stock Up 4.4%

NYSE:CIEN traded up $14.72 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $347.45. 1,617,235 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,894,509. Ciena Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $159.56 and a fifty-two week high of $637.51. The company has a market capitalization of $49.27 billion, a PE ratio of 77.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 3.80, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $376.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $440.79.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.38. Ciena had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 25.33%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. Ciena's revenue for the quarter was up 37.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 6.00 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CIEN shares. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ciena from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Argus set a $550.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ciena from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $506.11.

About Ciena

Ciena Corporation NYSE: CIEN is a networking technology company that provides hardware, software, and services for communications networks. Its solutions help telecommunications carriers, cloud providers, enterprises, government organizations, and research institutions build, manage, and automate high-capacity networks.

The company's portfolio includes optical networking systems, routing and switching platforms, network automation software, and network management tools. Ciena also offers consulting, implementation, maintenance, and professional services designed to support network planning, deployment, optimization, and ongoing operations.

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.