Axa S.A. Lowers Holdings in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Axa S.A. reduced its stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 25.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 349,381 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 119,716 shares during the period. Axa S.A. owned approximately 0.25% of Ciena worth $28,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the second quarter worth approximately $3,253,000. Hood River Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ciena by 43.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 1,216,068 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $98,903,000 after acquiring an additional 368,386 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Ciena by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 251,460 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $20,451,000 after acquiring an additional 17,294 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ciena by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 62,021 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,044,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Knollwood Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 2nd quarter worth $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,863 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.14, for a total transaction of $262,943.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,143,965.34. This trade represents a 4.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.61, for a total value of $1,309,748.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 254,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,090,510.70. The trade was a 2.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 51,935 shares of company stock worth $8,707,266. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of CIEN opened at $214.52 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.07. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ciena Corporation has a 52 week low of $49.21 and a 52 week high of $219.88. The stock has a market cap of $30.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 221.16, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.17.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 6th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ciena had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The company had revenue of $844.44 million during the quarter. On average, analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CIEN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ciena from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Ciena from $100.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ciena from $102.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $120.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.73.

Ciena Company Profile

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.