Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,076 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,158 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ciena were worth $14,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Ciena in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Ciena in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ciena by 50.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Ciena by 104.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Ciena during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CIEN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore set a $330.00 price objective on Ciena in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Ciena from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ciena currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $358.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total value of $9,021,337.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 68 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,866.40. The trade was a 99.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total value of $2,025,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 46,341 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,105. This represents a 9.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 42,974 shares of company stock valued at $16,615,505 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $536.28 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $414.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ciena Corporation has a 12-month low of $70.67 and a 12-month high of $550.00. The firm has a market cap of $75.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 341.58, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.24.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

Trending Headlines about 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 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.