Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 5,619,035 shares, an increase of 32.4% from the January 29th total of 4,244,185 shares. Currently, 4.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,414,906 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,414,906 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days. Currently, 4.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial set a $240.00 price target on Ciena in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Ciena from $135.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ciena from $138.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. B. Riley Financial restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Ciena and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $260.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other news, Director Patrick Gallagher sold 11,618 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.45, for a total value of $2,642,514.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,414,350.80. The trade was a 18.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas Michael Nevens sold 8,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.66, for a total value of $1,921,741.64. Following the sale, the director owned 9,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,116,746.52. The trade was a 47.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 160,083 shares of company stock valued at $37,204,740. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CIEN. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Ciena in the third quarter worth approximately $1,993,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,726,000. World Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the 2nd quarter worth $253,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Ciena by 7.4% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Ciena by 38.7% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 112,011 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $16,317,000 after purchasing an additional 31,225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Stock Down 6.1%

Shares of Ciena stock traded down $21.66 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $332.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,011,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,298,878. The company has a market capitalization of $46.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 390.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $270.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $202.00. Ciena has a one year low of $49.21 and a one year high of $365.90. 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 (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Ciena will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

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.