Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Sold by New York Life Investment Management LLC

New York Life Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 14,813 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 585 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ciena were worth $1,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Ciena by 50.0% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 534 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 636 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,147 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 27.3% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,556 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Ciena by 65.6% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,593 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE CIEN opened at $189.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 3.28. The firm has a market cap of $26.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 195.78, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.01. Ciena Corporation has a one year low of $49.21 and a one year high of $193.74.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 6th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ciena had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The company had revenue of $844.44 million for the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.36, for a total transaction of $59,276.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 40,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,884,992.08. The trade was a 0.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.25, for a total value of $1,157,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,270 shares in the company, valued at $46,864,717.50. This trade represents a 2.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 45,374 shares of company stock valued at $5,936,444 in the last three months. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ciena from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ciena from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ciena from $102.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.53.

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.