Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Stock Price Down 8.3% – Here’s What Happened

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN)’s stock price fell 8.3% during trading on Monday. The company traded as low as $294.46 and last traded at $294.26. Approximately 1,545,979 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 2,889,699 shares. The stock had previously closed at $320.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on CIEN. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Ciena in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $440.00 price objective on the stock. Argus set a $550.00 price objective on Ciena and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 target price (up from $530.00) on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $520.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ciena currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $485.93.

Ciena Trading Down 9.9%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $363.32 and a 200 day moving average of $401.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 3.80 and a quick ratio of 3.17. The company has a market cap of $40.96 billion, a PE ratio of 64.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.33.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. Analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 6.00 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.08, for a total transaction of $412,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 34,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,723,837.84. This trade represents a 3.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 Ciena stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.52, for a total transaction of $568,612.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,186,636.40. The trade was a 3.85% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 33,062 shares of company stock worth $12,336,372 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Markowski Investments purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ciena by 57.8% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 2,100.0% in the first quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 88 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ciena in the first quarter worth about $49,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ciena Company Profile

Ciena Corporation (NYSE: CIEN) is a networking technology company that provides hardware, software, and services for communications networks. Its solutions help telecommunications carriers, cloud providers, enterprises, government organizations, and research institutions build, manage, and automate high-capacity networks.

The company’s portfolio includes optical networking systems, routing and switching platforms, network automation software, and network management tools. Ciena also offers consulting, implementation, maintenance, and professional services designed to support network planning, deployment, optimization, and ongoing operations.