J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Sells 106,845 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG trimmed its position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 68.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,226 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 106,845 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Ciena were worth $7,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CIEN. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Ciena during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in Ciena in the third quarter worth $31,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ciena in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Ciena by 107.5% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 718 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Price Performance

NYSE CIEN opened at $247.36 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $223.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.73. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.21 and a 52-week high of $261.13. The company has a market cap of $34.84 billion, a PE ratio of 291.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.13.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. Ciena had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. Ciena’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 83,552 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.44, for a total value of $19,170,170.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 307,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,641,134.40. The trade was a 21.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Michael Nevens sold 8,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 9,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 90 days, insiders sold 167,890 shares of company stock valued at $38,277,035. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CIEN. Evercore ISI set a $240.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $213.00 price target on Ciena in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Argus boosted their price target on Ciena from $135.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ciena in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $241.67.

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.