Ciena Corporation $CIEN Holdings Trimmed by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,852 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,010 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Ciena were worth $22,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Markowski Investments bought a new stake in shares of Ciena during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 57.8% in the second quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 71 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in Ciena by 2,100.0% in the 1st quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 88 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ciena in the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Nvwm LLC bought a new position in Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ciena from $635.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, September 4th. UBS Group cut their price target on Ciena from $508.00 to $394.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, CL King set a $347.00 price objective on Ciena in a research report on Friday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $485.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.08, for a total transaction of $412,896.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 34,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,723,837.84. This trade represents a 3.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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. Also, EVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.52, for a total transaction of $568,612.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,186,636.40. This represents a 3.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 36,014 shares of company stock worth $13,216,540 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Stock Performance

CIEN stock opened at $272.59 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $346.30 and its 200-day moving average is $402.93. The company has a quick ratio of 3.17, a current ratio of 3.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $38.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.33. Ciena Corporation has a twelve month low of $168.22 and a twelve month high of $637.51.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 25.33% and a net margin of 10.87%. The firm’s revenue was up 37.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 6.00 EPS for the current year.

Ciena Profile

Ciena is a communications networking company that develops equipment, software and services used to build and manage telecommunications networks. Its offerings support the movement of data across fiber-optic, subsea and other network infrastructure. The company’s products include optical transport systems, routing and switching equipment, and software for network automation and management. Ciena also provides consulting, implementation and support services to help customers plan, deploy and operate their networks.