Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 141,685 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,746 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Ciena were worth $33,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CIEN. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ciena during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $292,310,000. Atreides Management LP acquired a new position in Ciena during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $102,705,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Ciena by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,462,840 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $941,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,787 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Ciena by 2,174.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,143,855 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $166,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,557 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Ciena by 3,577.9% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,032,393 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $83,965,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004,323 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total value of $9,021,337.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 68 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,866.40. This represents a 99.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total value of $1,226,585.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 281,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,909,971.15. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 42,974 shares of company stock valued at $16,615,505 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $536.28 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $414.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 341.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.14. Ciena Corporation has a 12 month low of $70.67 and a 12 month high of $550.00.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

More Ciena News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ciena this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/industry bullishness: Seeking Alpha highlights a surging backlog (now ~$7B) and accelerating backlog-to-cash conversion that supports revenue and cash-flow growth, arguing CIEN is well positioned for hyperscaler AI demand. Ciena Corp.: Buy As Backlog To Cash Is Rolling
• Positive Sentiment: Sector buy call: Zacks includes CIEN among communication-component stocks to tap the rally from 5G, fiber and AI tailwinds, reinforcing investor interest in the group. Buy 2 Communication Component Stocks to Tap Recent Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment and momentum: Broker consensus is around “Moderate Buy” and the stock recently hit a record high on the NYSE Composite, signaling strong market momentum and institutional interest. Ciena Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” Ciena Hits Record High
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer/company-news signal: Coverage of Lumentum’s upcoming Q3 frames broad industry demand for optics and AI-driven revenue growth — a positive sector signal for Ciena but not direct company news. Lumentum Q3 Earnings Loom
• Neutral Sentiment: ETF/flow context: Mentions of CIEN in mid-cap/smart-beta ETF coverage may support passive demand but are a secondary factor vs. direct earnings/backlog news. Is FNX a Strong ETF Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Celebrity pundit caution: Jim Cramer publicly said CIEN is “a little too hot” and that he’d “hold off,” which can sap conviction among retail traders and short-term momentum despite strong fundamentals. Jim Cramer on Ciena Jim Cramer on Ciena: “I’m Going to Have to Hold Off”

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore set a $330.00 target price on Ciena in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research upgraded Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Ciena from $355.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $358.94.

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.