Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) Shares Sold by LMR Partners LLP

LMR Partners LLP cut its stake in shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 82.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,000 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 229,853 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP's holdings in Ciena were worth $4,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 971.7% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 729,722 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $61,891,000 after acquiring an additional 661,630 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ciena by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 135,371 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $11,481,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its position in Ciena by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 117,235 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $9,943,000 after purchasing an additional 16,720 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $727,000. Finally, First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Ciena during the fourth quarter worth $7,226,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.67, for a total value of $27,534.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 46,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,637,150.11. This trade represents a 0.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.41, for a total value of $519,588.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 398,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,453,129.09. This trade represents a 1.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,138 shares of company stock worth $3,439,211. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ciena Stock Up 1.8%

CIEN traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $81.22. 1,271,816 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,025,856. Ciena Co. has a fifty-two week low of $44.69 and a fifty-two week high of $101.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.72. The company has a market cap of $11.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 142.49, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.11. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $65.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on CIEN shares. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price on Ciena from $73.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Ciena from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $89.00 price objective (down from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.62.

Ciena Company 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.