Washington Capital Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Washington Capital Management cut its stake in Ciena by 50.6% in Q4, selling 6,915 shares and leaving it with 6,745 shares worth about $1.577 million (≈1.3% of the firm's holdings and its 7th largest position).
• Ciena beat quarterly expectations, reporting $1.35 EPS versus $1.17 expected and revenue of $1.43 billion, up 33.1% year-over-year.
• Insider selling has been notable—CEOGary B. Smith and other insiders sold shares under 10b5-1 plans (42,974 shares worth ~$16.6M in the last three months)—while analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target of $355.59.

Washington Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 50.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,745 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 6,915 shares during the period. Ciena makes up about 1.3% of Washington Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Washington Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Ciena were worth $1,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in Ciena during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Ciena during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Ciena by 50.4% during the third 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. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in Ciena during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of CIEN opened at $520.34 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $73.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 331.43, a PEG ratio of 1.71 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 fifty-two week low of $63.99 and a fifty-two week high of $527.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $399.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $281.82.

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

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total transaction of $1,226,585.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 281,365 shares in the company, valued at $116,909,971.15. This represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.79, for a total transaction of $566,148.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 45,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,297,072.39. This represents a 2.59% 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 worth $16,615,505 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on CIEN shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $425.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $355.59.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CIEN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report).

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.