Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) Shares Sold by Senvest Management LLC

Senvest Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) by 15.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,961,966 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 368,453 shares during the period. Ciena comprises approximately 4.2% of Senvest Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Senvest Management LLC’s holdings in Ciena were worth $120,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CIEN. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new position in Ciena in the third quarter worth about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Ciena by 424.4% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 451 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new position in Ciena during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Ciena by 152.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 847 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 118.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,572 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $70.13 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 4.06 and a quick ratio of 2.99. The stock has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.61, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.94. Ciena Co. has a 12 month low of $42.20 and a 12 month high of $73.47.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $942.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.31 million. Ciena had a return on equity of 5.98% and a net margin of 3.44%. The company’s revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ciena Co. will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ciena declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the communications equipment provider to reacquire up to 10.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CIEN shares. Morgan Stanley cut Ciena from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Citigroup raised shares of Ciena from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Ciena from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ciena news, SVP David M. Rothenstein sold 3,500 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.24, for a total transaction of $196,840.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 205,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,552,877.04. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,289 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.99, for a total value of $88,928.11. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,724,139.14. The trade was a 3.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,489 shares of company stock valued at $657,051. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ciena Profile

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.