Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) Short Interest Update

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) saw a significant decline in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 4,244,185 shares, a decline of 28.7% from the January 15th total of 5,952,010 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,260,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 3.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 3.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,260,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CIEN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ciena from $138.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Northland Securities set a $190.00 price target on shares of Ciena and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Raymond James Financial set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Ciena from $175.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ciena has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $241.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas Michael Nevens sold 8,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.66, for a total value of $1,921,741.64. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,116,746.52. This represents a 47.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 11,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.82, for a total transaction of $2,741,522.78. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 49,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,370,344.50. This trade represents a 19.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 157,242 shares of company stock valued at $36,341,766 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ciena during the first quarter valued at approximately $395,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Ciena by 139.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Ciena by 1.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Ciena by 14.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,762 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 29.8% in the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,868 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ciena Stock Performance

CIEN traded up $10.89 during trading on Friday, hitting $303.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,087,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,234,942. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.80. The firm has a market cap of $42.98 billion, a PE ratio of 357.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.13. Ciena has a one year low of $49.21 and a one year high of $308.81. 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 (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 2.59%.Ciena’s revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ciena will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal 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.