Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Trading Down 7.9% Following Insider Selling

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) was down 7.9% during trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $440.20 and last traded at $441.7810. Approximately 588,483 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 3,164,153 shares. The stock had previously closed at $479.50.

Specifically, CFO Marc D. Graff sold 126 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.36, for a total transaction of $56,619.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 127,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,105,118.16. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CIEN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ciena from $405.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research downgraded Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Argus set a $650.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on Ciena from $283.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ciena has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $530.56.

Ciena Stock Down 7.5%

The stock has a market cap of $62.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 147.97 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $518.53 and its 200-day moving average is $382.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.73.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Ciena had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ciena in the first quarter worth about $395,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Ciena by 139.6% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,253 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 3,061 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ciena by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 222,054 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,117 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Ciena by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,762 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Ciena in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Company 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.