Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Sells 7,785 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Vaughan Nelson Investment Management cut its Ciena stake by 12.3% in the first quarter, selling 7,785 shares and leaving it with 55,677 shares worth about $21.6 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with SVP Jason Phipps and CEO Gary B. Smith both selling shares in Rule 10b5-1 transactions; insiders have sold 40,374 shares over the past three months.
• Ciena reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.64 and revenue of $1.57 billion, both above estimates, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $530.56.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lessened its position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 12.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,677 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 7,785 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.'s holdings in Ciena were worth $21,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CIEN. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ciena during the first quarter worth $395,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 139.6% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,253 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 3,061 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 222,054 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $13,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,117 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,762 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 2nd quarter valued at about $234,000. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the business's 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 approximately $27,866.40. The trade was a 99.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total value of $1,226,585.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 281,365 shares in the company, valued at $116,909,971.15. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 40,374 shares of company stock valued at $18,324,470 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ciena Trading Up 7.4%

Shares of CIEN stock opened at $459.82 on Tuesday. Ciena Corporation has a 12-month low of $73.55 and a 12-month high of $637.51. The company has a market capitalization of $65.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 153.28 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $519.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $375.02. 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 (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CIEN. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on Ciena from $283.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ciena from $405.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Ciena from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $530.56.

Ciena 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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