Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Sold by Polar Capital Holdings Plc

Polar Capital Holdings Plc trimmed its holdings in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,289,427 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 173,784 shares during the period. Ciena makes up approximately 1.2% of Polar Capital Holdings Plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Polar Capital Holdings Plc’s holdings in Ciena were worth $301,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 71.0% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ciena during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 154 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in Ciena during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ciena during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ciena Trading Down 7.0%

NYSE:CIEN opened at $430.83 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ciena Corporation has a 1-year low of $72.96 and a 1-year high of $637.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.61 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $521.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $368.39.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.18. Ciena had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 7.87%.The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. Ciena’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total value of $2,025,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 46,341 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,105. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total value of $9,021,337.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 68 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,866.40. This trade represents a 99.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 41,222 shares of company stock worth $18,441,027 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CIEN shares. Weiss Ratings raised Ciena from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ciena from $405.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Ciena from $350.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. B. Riley Financial raised their target price on Ciena from $283.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $530.56.

Ciena 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.