SWS Partners Sells 9,897 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

SWS Partners lessened its position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 33.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,859 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 9,897 shares during the period. SWS Partners’ holdings in Ciena were worth $2,893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CIEN. Atreides Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Ciena during the second quarter worth about $102,705,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Ciena by 3,577.9% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,032,393 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $83,965,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004,323 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in Ciena by 375.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,235,696 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $100,499,000 after acquiring an additional 975,792 shares during the last quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 546.9% during the 2nd quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP now owns 997,425 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $81,106,000 after acquiring an additional 843,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena in the first quarter valued at approximately $49,221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on CIEN shares. Argus increased their target price on shares of Ciena from $135.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Ciena to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Ciena from $138.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.50.

Ciena Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of CIEN stock opened at $241.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $201.29 and its 200-day moving average is $138.75. The stock has a market cap of $34.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 284.58, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.17. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.21 and a 52-week high of $248.00.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the business’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 transaction of $1,309,748.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 254,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,090,510.70. The trade was a 2.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Michael Nevens sold 8,554 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.66, for a total value of $1,921,741.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,116,746.52. This trade represents a 47.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,549 shares of company stock valued at $8,614,156. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.