Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its holdings in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 6.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,968 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,673 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Ciena were worth $3,413,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ciena by 50.0% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 534 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its stake in Ciena by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 636 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Ciena by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,147 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in Ciena by 65.6% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,593 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Ciena by 27.3% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,556 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Stock Performance

NYSE:CIEN opened at $189.91 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $143.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.01. Ciena Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.21 and a 1-year high of $193.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.28 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 195.78, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.15.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 6th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ciena had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The business had revenue of $844.44 million during the quarter. Analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.36, for a total value of $59,276.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,884,992.08. This represents a 0.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.25, for a total value of $1,157,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 275,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,864,717.50. This represents a 2.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 45,374 shares of company stock worth $5,936,444 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CIEN shares. B. Riley reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $113.00 price target (up from $90.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Ciena from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ciena from $102.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $78.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ciena in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.53.

About Ciena

Ciena Corporation provides hardware and software services for delivery of video, data, and voice traffic metro, aggregation, and access communications network worldwide. The company’s Networking Platforms segment offers convergence of coherent optical transport, open optical networking, optical transport network switching, IP routing, and switching services.