Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Sold by Stephens Investment Management Group LLC

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC cut its stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 19.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 541,504 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 129,648 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned about 0.38% of Ciena worth $78,881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ciena by 0.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,088,445 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,227,143,000 after purchasing an additional 103,199 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Ciena by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,243,053 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $426,420,000 after buying an additional 359,579 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Ciena by 10.4% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,495,795 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $284,313,000 after buying an additional 329,821 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in Ciena by 35.0% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,708,540 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $220,286,000 after buying an additional 702,909 shares during the period. Finally, Senvest Management LLC lifted its stake in Ciena by 12.4% in the second quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 1,655,012 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $134,602,000 after buying an additional 182,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Key Ciena News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ciena this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights a 42.6% three‑month gain as AI-driven bandwidth demand, a ~$5B backlog and a raised 2026 outlook are driving the rally—this explains much of the recent buying interest despite a rich P/E. Ciena Stock Gains 43% in 3 Months
• Positive Sentiment: Ciena agreed to acquire Nubis for $270M to accelerate AI‑ready data‑center interconnect capabilities — a strategic tuck‑in that strengthens its DCI product set and addressable market for AI cloud connectivity. CIEN Acquires Nubis
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and media momentum: Zacks put CIEN on a #1 (Strong Buy) list and several growth‑stock roundups; coverage and inclusion in bullish “AI infrastructure” stories support demand for the shares. Best Growth Stocks to Buy for Jan. 15
• Positive Sentiment: Industry/management tone is constructive — Ciena’s CSO expressed confidence competing with Nokia and Cisco, and trade press highlights Ciena’s position in the “AI optics”/fiber wave, reinforcing the growth narrative. Ciena CSO confident
• Neutral Sentiment: Inclusion in investor lists (e.g., Steven Cress’ Top 10 stocks) increases visibility but is not a direct fundamental change. Steven Cress’ Top 10 Stocks For 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Executives Joseph Cumello and Patrick Gallagher sold ~11.9k and ~11.6k shares respectively; insider sales can raise short‑term concern about liquidity/timing even if routine. Joseph Cumello Sells Shares Patrick Gallagher Sells Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage flags a recent pullback and scrutiny over a multi‑year earnings decline — investors may be profit‑taking or re‑examining forward margins vs. the premium valuation. Pulling back 3.1% this week

Ciena Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of Ciena stock opened at $243.78 on Friday. Ciena Corporation has a one year low of $49.21 and a one year high of $261.13. The company has a market cap of $34.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 286.80, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.13. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $217.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.80.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Northland Capmk downgraded shares of Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $135.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $190.00 target price on shares of Ciena and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.50.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, Director Patrick Gallagher sold 11,618 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.45, for a total transaction of $2,642,514.10. Following the transaction, the director owned 50,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,414,350.80. This represents a 18.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 11,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.82, for a total value of $2,741,522.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 49,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,370,344.50. The trade was a 19.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 143,514 shares of company stock worth $32,235,186 in the last three months. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.