Ciena Corporation $CIEN Stock Holdings Decreased by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lowered its position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 33.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 123,893 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 61,310 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned 0.09% of Ciena worth $28,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena in the third quarter worth $1,993,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ciena during the third quarter valued at $1,726,000. Peak Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Ciena by 222.7% during the fourth quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,596 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,712,000 after buying an additional 8,003 shares during the period. Semanteon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Ciena during the third quarter valued at $568,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Ciena by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 112,011 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $16,317,000 after acquiring an additional 31,225 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.53, for a total transaction of $1,061,332.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 293,084 shares in the company, valued at $105,372,490.52. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total transaction of $2,025,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 46,341 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,105. This represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 148,283 shares of company stock valued at $36,397,491. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ciena Stock Up 3.8%

CIEN opened at $402.67 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.94 billion, a PE ratio of 256.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.14. Ciena Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.21 and a fifty-two week high of $446.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $316.01 and a 200-day moving average of $234.24.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.18. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CIEN shares. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ciena in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $250.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $280.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.12.

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.