Inceptionr LLC Lowers Holdings in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Inceptionr LLC reduced its stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 52.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,779 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,965 shares during the period. Inceptionr LLC’s holdings in Ciena were worth $691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 125.8% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,991 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,985,000 after acquiring an additional 10,023 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ciena by 44.7% in the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 7,225 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,805,000 after purchasing an additional 2,231 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in Ciena by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,244 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Ciena during the 1st quarter valued at about $312,000. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp grew its position in Ciena by 50.6% during the 1st quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 10,338 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,014,000 after purchasing an additional 3,472 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total transaction of $739,599.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 42,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,992,499.76. The trade was a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Marc D. Graff sold 126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total transaction of $58,741.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 126,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,186,421. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 21,627 shares of company stock worth $10,974,985. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Stock Down 4.3%

Ciena stock opened at $389.93 on Friday. Ciena Corporation has a one year low of $84.41 and a one year high of $637.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $477.15 and a 200 day moving average of $409.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market cap of $55.20 billion, a PE ratio of 129.98 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CIEN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $283.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ciena from $372.00 to $607.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $615.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $530.56.

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.