Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) Short Interest Update

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) saw a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 5,044,648 shares, a decline of 19.4% from the February 26th total of 6,258,043 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,324,794 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 11,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.82, for a total transaction of $2,741,522.78. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 49,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,370,344.50. The trade was a 19.43% 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, SVP Jason Phipps sold 21,383 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.89, for a total value of $5,300,631.87. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 91,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,747,625.85. This trade represents a 18.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 148,283 shares of company stock worth $36,397,491. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CIEN. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 50.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ciena by 104.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of CIEN stock opened at $402.67 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ciena has a 12 month low of $49.21 and a 12 month high of $446.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $316.01 and a 200-day moving average of $235.77. The firm has a market cap of $56.94 billion, a PE ratio of 256.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.08.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.18. Ciena had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Ciena will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CIEN shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ciena currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.12.

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.