Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Sells 539,642 Shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lessened its position in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 67.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 259,904 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 539,642 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned 0.18% of Ciena worth $15,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ciena by 108.6% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ciena by 73.7% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 356 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Ciena by 328.2% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 364 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Ciena by 77.2% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 420 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of Ciena stock opened at $72.19 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a current ratio of 3.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a PE ratio of 126.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.12. Ciena Co. has a 52-week low of $44.89 and a 52-week high of $101.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.06.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 4.72% and a net margin of 2.09%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ciena Co. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 18,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.88, for a total transaction of $1,131,013.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 89,258 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,344,769.04. The trade was a 17.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.67, for a total transaction of $27,534.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 46,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,637,150.11. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 44,988 shares of company stock valued at $2,988,095 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CIEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ciena from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Northland Securities set a $85.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, June 6th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 target price (up previously from $89.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $83.15.

Ciena Profile

Ciena Corporation provides hardware and software services for delivery of video, data, and voice traffic metro, aggregation, and access communications network worldwide. The company's Networking Platforms segment offers convergence of coherent optical transport, open optical networking, optical transport network switching, IP routing, and switching services.

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