Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Stake in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its stake in Ciena by 4.6% in Q4, selling 692,023 shares and ending the period with 14,376,579 shares (10.21% ownership) valued at about $3.36 billion; overall institutional ownership stands near 91.99%.
• Ciena posted strong quarterly results — $1.35 EPS vs. $1.17 expected and revenue of $1.43B (up 33.1% y/y) — and analysts have raised targets (JPMorgan to $550), leaving a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with a $355.59 price target.
• Insiders have sold shares under Rule 10b5‑1 plans (SVP sold 22,014 shares; CEO sold 2,952), with insiders owning 0.58% and insider sales totaling 42,974 shares (~$16.6M) over the past 90 days.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,376,579 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 692,023 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.21% of Ciena worth $3,362,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Ciena by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,462,840 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $941,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,787 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Ciena by 10.4% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,495,795 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $284,313,000 after purchasing an additional 329,821 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in Ciena in the third quarter worth $292,310,000. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Ciena by 48.5% in the third quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,983,000 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $288,864,000 after purchasing an additional 648,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its position in Ciena by 7.6% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,836,981 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $267,593,000 after buying an additional 130,507 shares during the period. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of CIEN stock opened at $473.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $66.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 301.27, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Ciena Corporation has a one year low of $64.71 and a one year high of $527.86. The company's 50-day moving average is $406.96 and its 200 day moving average is $286.46.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total value of $9,021,337.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 68 shares in the company, valued at $27,866.40. The trade was a 99.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total value of $1,226,585.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 281,365 shares in the company, valued at $116,909,971.15. This trade represents a 1.04% 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. Insiders sold 42,974 shares of company stock valued at $16,615,505 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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, April 20th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $425.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $355.59.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.