Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) Short Interest Update

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,693,751 shares, a decrease of 21.5% from the March 31st total of 5,977,920 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,961,166 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Key Stories Impacting Ciena

Here are the key news stories impacting Ciena this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/industry bullishness: Seeking Alpha highlights a surging backlog (now ~$7B) and accelerating backlog-to-cash conversion that supports revenue and cash-flow growth, arguing CIEN is well positioned for hyperscaler AI demand. Ciena Corp.: Buy As Backlog To Cash Is Rolling
• Positive Sentiment: Sector buy call: Zacks includes CIEN among communication-component stocks to tap the rally from 5G, fiber and AI tailwinds, reinforcing investor interest in the group. Buy 2 Communication Component Stocks to Tap Recent Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment and momentum: Broker consensus is around “Moderate Buy” and the stock recently hit a record high on the NYSE Composite, signaling strong market momentum and institutional interest. Ciena Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” Ciena Hits Record High
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer/company-news signal: Coverage of Lumentum’s upcoming Q3 frames broad industry demand for optics and AI-driven revenue growth — a positive sector signal for Ciena but not direct company news. Lumentum Q3 Earnings Loom
• Neutral Sentiment: ETF/flow context: Mentions of CIEN in mid-cap/smart-beta ETF coverage may support passive demand but are a secondary factor vs. direct earnings/backlog news. Is FNX a Strong ETF Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Celebrity pundit caution: Jim Cramer publicly said CIEN is “a little too hot” and that he’d “hold off,” which can sap conviction among retail traders and short-term momentum despite strong fundamentals. Jim Cramer on Ciena Jim Cramer on Ciena: “I’m Going to Have to Hold Off”

Ciena Stock Up 1.6%

Ciena stock opened at $536.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.81. Ciena has a one year low of $70.67 and a one year high of $550.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $414.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 341.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.24.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ciena will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total transaction of $9,021,337.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 68 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,866.40. This trade represents a 99.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total transaction of $2,025,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 46,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,105. The trade was a 9.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 42,974 shares of company stock worth $16,615,505 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ciena

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CIEN. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 635.7% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 103 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ciena by 71.0% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Ciena by 85.5% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 141 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Ciena in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in Ciena by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 154 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CIEN. Citigroup boosted their price target on Ciena from $280.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ciena from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $358.94.

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.