Rokos Capital Management LLP Trims Stock Holdings in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Rokos Capital Management LLP reduced its holdings in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 68.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 66,460 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 144,216 shares during the period. Rokos Capital Management LLP’s holdings in Ciena were worth $25,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CIEN. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the first quarter worth $395,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Ciena by 139.6% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,253 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 3,061 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Ciena by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 222,054 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $13,419,000 after buying an additional 3,117 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in Ciena by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,762 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 2nd quarter worth $234,000. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Northland Securities set a $450.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ciena from $285.00 to $508.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ciena from $372.00 to $607.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $530.56.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of CIEN opened at $376.25 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $84.41 and a 52-week high of $637.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $474.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $411.40. The company has a market capitalization of $53.26 billion, a PE ratio of 125.42 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In related news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.83, for a total transaction of $1,383,986.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 254,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,498,203.38. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,629 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total value of $1,225,639.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 62,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,082,488.40. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,627 shares of company stock worth $10,974,985. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.