Riverwater Partners LLC Sells 13,374 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Riverwater Partners LLC cut its Ciena stake by 66.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 13,374 shares and leaving it with 6,683 shares worth about $1.56 million.
• Several insiders have also sold shares recently, including SVP Jason Phipps and SVP Brodie Gage; insiders sold a total of 44,174 shares over the last 90 days.
• Ciena reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.64 and revenue of $1.57 billion, both beating estimates, while analysts remain broadly positive with an average Moderate Buy rating.

Riverwater Partners LLC reduced its position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 66.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,683 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 13,374 shares during the quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC's holdings in Ciena were worth $1,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ciena by 50.4% during 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 last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Ciena by 104.0% during the third quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total transaction of $9,021,337.20. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 shares were sold at an average price of $570.65, for a total transaction of $684,780.00. Following 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 $19,502,359 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore set a $330.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Ciena from $470.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on shares of Ciena from $283.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $530.56.

Ciena Price Performance

Ciena stock opened at $443.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $62.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 147.85 and a beta of 1.24. The firm's fifty day moving average is $520.89 and its 200 day moving average is $363.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $71.52 and a 52-week high of $637.51.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 18.15%. Ciena's revenue was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ciena News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ciena this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Northland Securities raised its earnings estimates for Ciena, lifting its Q3 2026 EPS view to $1.44, Q4 2026 EPS to $1.51, and FY2026 EPS to $5.39, which is above the broader consensus of $5.14. Northland raises Ciena estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Colt and Ciena announced a record quantum-safe transatlantic data transmission, highlighting demand for Ciena’s high-speed networking and encryption technology. Quantum-safe transatlantic transmission announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary around Ciena’s strong free cash flow and AI-driven demand suggests the company has room to fund growth while still supporting shareholder returns. Zacks free cash flow article
• Neutral Sentiment: Ciena closed an upsized $2.875 billion offering of 0.00% convertible senior notes, a move that strengthens the balance sheet and funds strategic flexibility, but also introduces potential future dilution if converted. Convertible notes closing announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor commentary continues to frame Ciena as a beneficiary of AI/networking spending, reinforcing a constructive long-term narrative for the stock. TipRanks article on capital structure
• Negative Sentiment: The large convertible debt offering may weigh on sentiment because investors could view it as a sign of future share dilution or a more complex capital structure, even if the financing is low-cost. Convertible notes closing announcement

About Ciena

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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