Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Sold by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 47.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 71,266 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 64,421 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ciena were worth $10,381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Ciena by 50.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ciena by 104.0% during the third quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CIEN shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ciena from $120.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.13.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 21,383 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.89, for a total value of $5,300,631.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 91,765 shares in the company, valued at $22,747,625.85. This represents a 18.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Michael Nevens sold 8,554 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.66, for a total transaction of $1,921,741.64. Following the sale, the director owned 9,422 shares in the company, valued at $2,116,746.52. This trade represents a 47.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 160,083 shares of company stock valued at $37,204,740. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CIEN opened at $341.11 on Friday. Ciena Corporation has a 12-month low of $49.21 and a 12-month high of $365.90. The company has a market cap of $48.25 billion, a PE ratio of 401.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $263.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. Ciena had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 2.59%.The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

About Ciena

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.