New York State Teachers Retirement System Decreases Holdings in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 141,685 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,746 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.10% of Ciena worth $33,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Ciena by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,462,840 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $941,451,000 after buying an additional 1,219,787 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Ciena by 10.4% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ciena during the 3rd quarter worth about $292,310,000. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Ciena by 48.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,983,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $288,864,000 after buying an additional 648,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Ciena by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,836,981 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $267,593,000 after buying an additional 130,507 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CIEN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ciena from $320.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $358.94.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In related news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total value of $1,226,585.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 281,365 shares in the company, valued at $116,909,971.15. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total value of $9,021,337.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 68 shares in the company, valued at $27,866.40. This trade represents a 99.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,974 shares of company stock worth $16,615,505. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Ciena

Here are the key news stories impacting Ciena this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/industry bullishness: Seeking Alpha highlights a surging backlog (now ~$7B) and accelerating backlog-to-cash conversion that supports revenue and cash-flow growth, arguing CIEN is well positioned for hyperscaler AI demand. Ciena Corp.: Buy As Backlog To Cash Is Rolling
• Positive Sentiment: Sector buy call: Zacks includes CIEN among communication-component stocks to tap the rally from 5G, fiber and AI tailwinds, reinforcing investor interest in the group. Buy 2 Communication Component Stocks to Tap Recent Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment and momentum: Broker consensus is around “Moderate Buy” and the stock recently hit a record high on the NYSE Composite, signaling strong market momentum and institutional interest. Ciena Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” Ciena Hits Record High
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer/company-news signal: Coverage of Lumentum’s upcoming Q3 frames broad industry demand for optics and AI-driven revenue growth — a positive sector signal for Ciena but not direct company news. Lumentum Q3 Earnings Loom
• Neutral Sentiment: ETF/flow context: Mentions of CIEN in mid-cap/smart-beta ETF coverage may support passive demand but are a secondary factor vs. direct earnings/backlog news. Is FNX a Strong ETF Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Celebrity pundit caution: Jim Cramer publicly said CIEN is “a little too hot” and that he’d “hold off,” which can sap conviction among retail traders and short-term momentum despite strong fundamentals. Jim Cramer on Ciena Jim Cramer on Ciena: “I’m Going to Have to Hold Off”

Ciena Stock Up 1.6%

CIEN opened at $536.28 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $414.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.81. Ciena Corporation has a one year low of $70.67 and a one year high of $550.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 341.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.24.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

Ciena Company 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.