New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Sells 31,082 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors LLC cut its Ciena stake by 65.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 31,082 shares and leaving it with 16,412 shares worth about $3.84 million.
• Ciena insiders also sold stock, including SVP Jason Phipps and SVP Brodie Gage; insiders sold 44,174 shares worth $18.9 million over the last quarter.
• Ciena reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while analysts remain cautiously optimistic with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $398.83.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC decreased its position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 65.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,412 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 31,082 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC's holdings in Ciena were worth $3,838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in Ciena in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Ciena by 50.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Ciena by 104.0% in the third quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Ciena in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total transaction of $9,021,337.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 68 shares in the company, valued at $27,866.40. The trade was a 99.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total value of $2,025,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 46,341 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,105. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,174 shares of company stock worth $18,878,661. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of CIEN opened at $583.65 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ciena Corporation has a 1 year low of $70.77 and a 1 year high of $599.50. The stock has a market cap of $82.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 371.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $483.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $331.92.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CIEN. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Ciena from $430.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Evercore set a $330.00 price target on Ciena in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Ciena from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ciena presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $398.83.

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.

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