State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $11.36 Million Holdings in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its position in Ciena by 4.4%, selling 2,243 shares and leaving 48,555 shares valued at about $11.36 million per the latest 13F filing.
• Ciena topped quarterly expectations with $1.35 EPS vs. $1.17 est. and revenue of $1.43B (up 33.1% YoY), and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average price target of about $358.94 amid multiple target upgrades.
• Market momentum is strong (stock near record highs, market cap ~$75.8B), but insiders have been selling recently (SVP sold ~22,014 shares for ~$9.02M; CEO sold ~2,952 shares for ~$1.06M), and the stock trades at a high P/E (~342) with ~92% institutional ownership.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,555 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 2,243 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Ciena were worth $11,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CIEN. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Ciena by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Ciena by 104.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Stock Up 1.6%

Ciena stock opened at $536.28 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $414.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $289.45. Ciena Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $70.67 and a fifty-two week high of $550.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 341.58, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.14.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.18. Ciena had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. Ciena's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on CIEN. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ciena from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Ciena from $320.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ciena from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $358.94.

More Ciena News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ciena this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/industry bullishness: Seeking Alpha highlights a surging backlog (now ~$7B) and accelerating backlog-to-cash conversion that supports revenue and cash-flow growth, arguing CIEN is well positioned for hyperscaler AI demand. Ciena Corp.: Buy As Backlog To Cash Is Rolling
• Positive Sentiment: Sector buy call: Zacks includes CIEN among communication-component stocks to tap the rally from 5G, fiber and AI tailwinds, reinforcing investor interest in the group. Buy 2 Communication Component Stocks to Tap Recent Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment and momentum: Broker consensus is around "Moderate Buy" and the stock recently hit a record high on the NYSE Composite, signaling strong market momentum and institutional interest. Ciena Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" Ciena Hits Record High
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer/company-news signal: Coverage of Lumentum's upcoming Q3 frames broad industry demand for optics and AI-driven revenue growth — a positive sector signal for Ciena but not direct company news. Lumentum Q3 Earnings Loom
• Neutral Sentiment: ETF/flow context: Mentions of CIEN in mid-cap/smart-beta ETF coverage may support passive demand but are a secondary factor vs. direct earnings/backlog news. Is FNX a Strong ETF Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Celebrity pundit caution: Jim Cramer publicly said CIEN is "a little too hot" and that he'd "hold off," which can sap conviction among retail traders and short-term momentum despite strong fundamentals. Jim Cramer on Ciena Jim Cramer on Ciena: “I’m Going to Have to Hold Off”

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 68 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,866.40. This trade represents a 99.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.53, for a total transaction of $1,061,332.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 293,084 shares in the company, valued at $105,372,490.52. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 42,974 shares of company stock valued at $16,615,505 in the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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