Peregrine Capital Management LLC Sells 62,531 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Peregrine Capital trimmed its stake in Ciena by 50.7%, selling 62,531 shares during the quarter and ending with 60,837 shares valued at about $14.23 million.
• Significant insider selling: SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares for roughly $9.02 million and CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares, with insiders selling 42,974 shares worth $16.62 million over the past 90 days.
• Stock and outlook strength: Ciena reported an earnings beat (Q EPS $1.35 vs $1.17) and the stock traded near $520.45 amid multiple analyst target increases (JPMorgan to $550), leaving a consensus "Moderate Buy" target of $355.59.

Peregrine Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 50.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,837 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 62,531 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC's holdings in Ciena were worth $14,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CIEN. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Ciena by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 710 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Ciena by 50.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ciena by 1.7% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,772 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,475 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $943,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.53, for a total value of $1,061,332.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 293,084 shares in the company, valued at $105,372,490.52. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,974 shares of company stock worth $16,615,505. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ciena in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $355.59.

Ciena Price Performance

Ciena stock traded up $21.48 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $520.45. 354,101 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,278,473. The company has a market cap of $73.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 330.55, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $390.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $275.84. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $62.42 and a 52-week high of $523.97.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.18. The firm 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 company's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Ciena Company 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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