Front Street Capital Management Inc. Has $23.14 Million Stake in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Front Street Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 30.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,605 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 26,654 shares during the quarter. Ciena accounts for approximately 3.0% of Front Street Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Front Street Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ciena were worth $23,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BankChampaign National Association bought a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 1st quarter worth about $759,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP grew its holdings in Ciena by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP now owns 82,167 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,900,000 after purchasing an additional 11,515 shares during the last quarter. E20 Capital Ltd bought a new position in Ciena during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,676,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ciena in the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Bull Harbor Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ciena in the 1st quarter worth about $1,507,000. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total transaction of $1,225,639.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 62,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,082,488.40. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 254,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,498,203.38. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 18,675 shares of company stock worth $9,387,576 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $615.00 target price on Ciena in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ciena from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America raised their price target on Ciena from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Argus set a $650.00 price objective on Ciena in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $450.00 price objective on Ciena in a research report on Friday, June 5th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $530.56.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $371.37 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $461.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $413.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.73. Ciena Corporation has a one year low of $84.41 and a one year high of $637.51. The firm has a market cap of $52.57 billion, a PE ratio of 123.79 and a beta of 1.27.

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

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.