Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Stock Price Down 8.3% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Ciena shares fell 8.3% to about $294.26, with trading volume roughly 47% below the average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $485.93, although B. Riley lowered its target to $413 and rated the stock “neutral.”
• Ciena reported strong quarterly results, including $2.11 in adjusted EPS versus a $1.73 estimate and $1.67 billion in revenue, up 37% year over year. Insiders have sold $12.3 million of stock over the past three months, while institutional investors own nearly 92% of shares.

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 8.3% during trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $294.46 and last traded at $294.26. 1,545,979 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 2,889,699 shares. The stock had previously closed at $320.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on CIEN. B. Riley Financial lowered their target price on Ciena from $516.00 to $413.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Morgan Stanley restated a "positive" rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Northland Securities set a $550.00 price objective on Ciena and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Ciena from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $485.93.

Ciena Stock Down 9.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $40.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.16, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.33. The company's 50-day moving average price is $363.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $401.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a current ratio of 3.80.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. Ciena's quarterly revenue was up 37.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 6.00 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.08, for a total value of $412,896.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 34,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,723,837.84. The trade was a 3.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Jason Phipps sold 2,629 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.19, for a total value of $933,794.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 57,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,383,643.72. The trade was a 4.38% 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 have sold a total of 33,062 shares of company stock valued at $12,336,372 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CIEN. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ciena during the third quarter valued at $201,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,407 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $9,017,000 after purchasing an additional 2,280 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the 3rd quarter valued at about $436,000. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the 3rd quarter valued at about $481,000. Finally, XML Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Ciena by 4.3% during the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Company Profile

Ciena Corporation NYSE: CIEN is a networking technology company that provides hardware, software, and services for communications networks. Its solutions help telecommunications carriers, cloud providers, enterprises, government organizations, and research institutions build, manage, and automate high-capacity networks.

The company's portfolio includes optical networking systems, routing and switching platforms, network automation software, and network management tools. Ciena also offers consulting, implementation, maintenance, and professional services designed to support network planning, deployment, optimization, and ongoing operations.

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