Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Shares Down 6.2% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) were down 6.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $432.80 and last traded at $434.8680. 890,633 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 3,090,007 shares. The stock had previously closed at $463.41.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CIEN shares. Northland Securities set a $450.00 price target on Ciena in a report on Friday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ciena from $405.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $470.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ciena from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Ciena from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $530.56.

Ciena Stock Down 2.1%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $521.44 and a 200 day moving average of $370.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 142.00 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.11.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.18. Ciena had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 7.87%.The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total transaction of $1,226,585.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 281,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,909,971.15. This represents a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total transaction of $2,025,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 46,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,105. The trade was a 9.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,374 shares of company stock valued at $20,349,470. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ciena

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 31,161 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $7,288,000 after buying an additional 3,156 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Ciena by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 445,359 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $104,156,000 after acquiring an additional 155,712 shares during the last quarter. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ciena by 164.0% during the 4th quarter. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. now owns 660,988 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $154,585,000 after purchasing an additional 410,588 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 1,095.8% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 27,527 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $6,438,000 after acquiring an additional 25,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ciena by 222.7% in the fourth quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,596 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,712,000 after purchasing an additional 8,003 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.