AlphaQuest LLC Reduces Stake in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

AlphaQuest LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,026 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,124 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Ciena were worth $409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ciena by 50.0% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 534 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings in Ciena by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 636 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,147 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 65.6% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,593 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Ciena by 27.3% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,556 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Stock Performance

CIEN stock opened at $189.33 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.19. The company has a current ratio of 3.28, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ciena Corporation has a 12-month low of $49.21 and a 12-month high of $193.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.71 billion, a PE ratio of 195.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.15.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 6th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter. Ciena had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 3.10%.The firm had revenue of $844.44 million during the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CIEN shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Wolfe Research raised Ciena to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ciena from $78.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ciena from $102.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on shares of Ciena from $100.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.53.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In other news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.14, for a total value of $262,943.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,531 shares in the company, valued at $6,143,965.34. This trade represents a 4.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.36, for a total value of $59,276.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 40,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,884,992.08. This trade represents a 0.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 45,374 shares of company stock worth $5,936,444 in the last three months. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Ciena

Ciena Corporation provides hardware and software services for delivery of video, data, and voice traffic metro, aggregation, and access communications network worldwide. The company’s Networking Platforms segment offers convergence of coherent optical transport, open optical networking, optical transport network switching, IP routing, and switching services.