Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Director Thomas Michael Nevens Sells 3,738 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• Ciena Director Thomas Michael Nevens sold 3,738 shares at an average price of $359.04, generating approximately $1.34 million. The transaction reduced his direct ownership by 37.28% to 6,289 shares.
• Ciena shares fell 0.6% to $356.33 in midday trading, while the company posted quarterly EPS of $2.11 and revenue of $1.67 billion, exceeding analyst estimates. Revenue increased 37% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $492.68, although one firm recently lowered its target to $413. Institutional investors own approximately 91.99% of Ciena’s outstanding shares.

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) Director Thomas Nevens sold 3,738 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.04, for a total transaction of $1,342,091.52. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,258,002.56. This trade represents a 37.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Ciena Stock Down 0.6%

Ciena stock traded down $2.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $356.33. 1,616,194 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,879,244. The firm has a market cap of $50.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.54, a P/E/G ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.30. Ciena Corporation has a 1 year low of $138.12 and a 1 year high of $637.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 3.80 and a quick ratio of 3.17. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $376.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $439.63.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.38. Ciena had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 25.33%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 37.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CIEN shares. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Northland Securities set a $550.00 price target on Ciena in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ciena from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. B. Riley Financial reduced their target price on Ciena from $516.00 to $413.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated a "positive" rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $492.68.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ciena

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Andra AP fonden increased its position in Ciena by 250.6% in the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 35,899 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $17,611,000 after buying an additional 25,660 shares during the period. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC raised its position in shares of Ciena by 22.6% during the second quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC now owns 981 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ciena during the second quarter worth about $312,000. Gemmer Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Ciena during the second quarter valued at about $3,280,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ciena during the second quarter valued at approximately $14,835,000. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

About Ciena

Ciena Corporation NYSE: CIEN is a networking technology company that provides hardware, software and services for communications networks. Its solutions help service providers, cloud companies, enterprises and government organizations build, manage and automate high-capacity networks that support broadband, cloud computing, data center interconnection and other digital services.

The company's product portfolio includes optical networking systems, coherent optical technology, routers, switches, network control and automation software, and network management tools.

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.