Pacifica Partners Inc. Sells 6,481 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Pacifica Partners cut its Ciena stake by 54.2% in the second quarter, selling 6,481 shares and retaining 5,469 shares valued at $2.68 million. Institutional investors collectively own 91.99% of Ciena.
• Ciena shares opened at $361.42 after a 5.6% decline, while the stock trades at a high P/E ratio of 120.47 and remains well below its 52-week high of $637.51.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $521.22, though recent ratings were mixed. Investors are watching the upcoming earnings report for signs of continued revenue growth, optical-networking demand and backlog expansion.

Pacifica Partners Inc. lowered its stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 54.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,469 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 6,481 shares during the quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc.'s holdings in Ciena were worth $2,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CIEN. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ciena by 57.8% in the second 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. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in Ciena by 2,100.0% during the first quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 88 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Ciena by 635.7% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 103 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ciena by 71.0% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ciena during the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CIEN. B. Riley Financial cut their price target on shares of Ciena from $516.00 to $413.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Ciena from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $450.00 to $500.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ciena in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ciena from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ciena from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ciena presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $521.22.

Key Stories Impacting Ciena

Here are the key news stories impacting Ciena this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are anticipating another strong quarterly report, with attention on revenue, earnings, optical-networking demand and guidance. Ciena’s prior quarter delivered revenue growth of 39.5% year over year and exceeded analysts’ earnings and revenue estimates, raising hopes that the September 3 report could provide another catalyst. Ciena's Next Earnings Report on September 3 Could Send the Stock Soaring
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley expects backlog growth in the fiscal-third-quarter report. A larger backlog would signal continued demand visibility for Ciena’s optical networking equipment, particularly as telecom and cloud companies expand AI infrastructure. Morgan Stanley previews Ciena Q3F26 report
• Positive Sentiment: One valuation analysis argues that Ciena may still trade below fair value despite its substantial rally, suggesting potential upside if earnings growth and AI-networking demand justify the company’s premium valuation. Ciena Stock Trades Below Fair Value Even After Its Big Run
• Positive Sentiment: A technical analysis identifies a contrarian signal after the shares paused below their June 25-year high, which could attract buyers if the earnings report confirms continued momentum. Contrarian Signal Flashing for Ciena Stock

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Marc D. Graff sold 4,995 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.72, for a total transaction of $2,151,446.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 107,519 shares in the company, valued at $46,310,583.68. This trade represents a 4.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,586 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total transaction of $739,599.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 42,872 shares in the company, valued at $19,992,499.76. This represents a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 22,470 shares of company stock valued at $9,967,521. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ciena Trading Down 5.6%

NYSE CIEN opened at $361.42 on Wednesday. Ciena Corporation has a one year low of $90.00 and a one year high of $637.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.11. The firm has a market cap of $51.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.47 and a beta of 1.31. The stock's 50-day moving average is $412.31 and its 200-day moving average is $437.61.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.18. Ciena had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 7.87%.The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. Ciena's quarterly revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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