Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) Shares Sold by Eaton Vance Management

Eaton Vance Management trimmed its holdings in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN – Get Rating) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,882 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,061 shares during the period. Eaton Vance Management’s holdings in Ciena were worth $1,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 1st quarter valued at about $108,564,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,849,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,636,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 2nd quarter valued at about $23,252,000. Finally, Weiss Multi Strategy Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ciena by 564.1% in the 1st quarter. Weiss Multi Strategy Advisers LLC now owns 499,367 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,277,000 after purchasing an additional 424,173 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CIEN opened at $49.09 on Monday. Ciena Co. has a twelve month low of $38.33 and a twelve month high of $68.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.25, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $7.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.84.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.56. Ciena had a return on equity of 7.57% and a net margin of 4.21%. The business had revenue of $971.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $847.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ciena Co. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, VP Andrew C. Petrik sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total transaction of $49,870.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 35,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,750,387.13. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Ciena news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 3,541 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.76, for a total transaction of $169,118.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 480,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,944,142.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Andrew C. Petrik sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $49,870.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 35,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,750,387.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 64,402 shares of company stock worth $3,737,648 in the last 90 days. 0.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CIEN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Northland Securities boosted their price target on Ciena from $40.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday, December 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Ciena to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, December 12th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Ciena from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 9th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. Finally, MKM Partners boosted their price target on Ciena from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.06.

About Ciena

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Ciena Corp. engages in the provision of network and communication infrastructure. It operates through the following segments: Networking Platforms, Platform Software and Services, Blue Planet Automation Software and Services, and Global Services. The Networking Platforms segment consists of Converged Packet Optical and Packet Networking portfolios.