Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Sold by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 55.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,098,593 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,342,295 shares during the period. Ciena makes up approximately 0.7% of William Blair Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ciena were worth $256,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ciena during the 1st quarter worth approximately $395,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 139.6% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,253 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 3,061 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 222,054 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $13,419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,117 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,762 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ciena during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of CIEN stock opened at $583.65 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $478.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $328.12. Ciena Corporation has a twelve month low of $70.77 and a twelve month high of $599.50. The company has a market capitalization of $82.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 371.75, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CIEN shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ciena from $355.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore set a $330.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $398.83.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In other Ciena news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was 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 owned 281,365 shares in the company, valued at $116,909,971.15. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 44,174 shares of company stock valued at $18,878,661. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.