Ciena Corporation $CIEN Stock Holdings Trimmed by North Growth Management Ltd.

North Growth Management Ltd. lowered its position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 20.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 325,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 82,000 shares during the quarter. Ciena accounts for 8.3% of North Growth Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. North Growth Management Ltd. owned 0.23% of Ciena worth $47,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. World Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Ciena in the 2nd quarter valued at $253,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Ciena by 375.4% during the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,235,696 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $100,499,000 after purchasing an additional 975,792 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Ciena by 7.4% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,243,053 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $426,420,000 after purchasing an additional 359,579 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Ciena by 516.6% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 18,719 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,131,000 after buying an additional 15,683 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 322.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 34,035 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,912,000 after buying an additional 25,986 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In related news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.46, for a total value of $1,587,528.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 391,437 shares in the company, valued at $91,384,882.02. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 550 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.84, for a total value of $121,462.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 39,992 shares in the company, valued at $8,831,833.28. The trade was a 1.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,565 shares of company stock worth $8,897,954. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ciena Stock Up 5.2%

CIEN stock opened at $246.15 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $207.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Ciena Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.21 and a 1-year high of $248.50. The firm has a market cap of $34.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 289.59, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.13.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 8.38%. Ciena’s revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CIEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ciena from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ciena in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Northland Securities set a $190.00 price target on Ciena and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. B. Riley restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Argus increased their target price on Ciena from $135.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.50.

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.