Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Sold by Becker Capital Management Inc.

Becker Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 218,076 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 4,902 shares during the period. Becker Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.15% of Ciena worth $31,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth $1,993,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the third quarter valued at about $1,726,000. World Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in Ciena during the second quarter worth about $253,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Ciena by 7.4% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,243,053 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $426,420,000 after purchasing an additional 359,579 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Ciena by 38.7% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 112,011 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $16,317,000 after purchasing an additional 31,225 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, Director Patrick Gallagher sold 11,618 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.45, for a total transaction of $2,642,514.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 50,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,414,350.80. The trade was a 18.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 21,383 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.89, for a total value of $5,300,631.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 91,765 shares in the company, valued at $22,747,625.85. This trade represents a 18.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 160,083 shares of company stock worth $37,204,740 over the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CIEN. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $120.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Citigroup raised their target price on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Evercore set a $330.00 target price on Ciena in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Ciena to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ciena currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $252.13.

Ciena Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE:CIEN opened at $348.53 on Monday. Ciena Corporation has a 12-month low of $49.21 and a 12-month high of $365.90. The firm has a market cap of $49.30 billion, a PE ratio of 410.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $266.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $198.45.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. Ciena had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 2.59%.The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. Ciena’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.