Riverwater Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Riverwater Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,057 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,960 shares during the quarter. Ciena comprises about 1.2% of Riverwater Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Riverwater Partners LLC’s holdings in Ciena were worth $2,922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Ciena during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Ciena by 107.5% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 718 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the period. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ciena Stock Performance

CIEN opened at $232.13 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $222.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.41. The company has a market cap of $32.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 273.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.21 and a 52-week high of $261.13.

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

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 21,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was 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 owned 91,765 shares in the company, valued at $22,747,625.85. This trade represents a 18.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Patrick Gallagher sold 11,618 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.45, for a total value of $2,642,514.10. Following the sale, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 167,890 shares of company stock worth $38,277,035 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CIEN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ciena from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Evercore ISI set a $240.00 price objective on Ciena in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ciena to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Ciena to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ciena currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $241.67.

Ciena Profile

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.