Jason Phipps Sells 18,888 Shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) Stock

Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) SVP Jason Phipps sold 18,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.88, for a total transaction of $1,131,013.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 89,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,344,769.04. This represents a 17.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Ciena Stock Up 5.7 %

Shares of CIEN opened at $65.03 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a current ratio of 3.55. Ciena Co. has a 52 week low of $43.30 and a 52 week high of $101.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.09, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $77.11 and a 200-day moving average of $74.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on CIEN shares. Barclays set a $100.00 price target on shares of Ciena and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Northland Securities upgraded Ciena from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Ciena from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 price target (down from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Ciena from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.38.

Institutional Trading of Ciena

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Ciena by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 48,883 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,021,000 after buying an additional 14,946 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Ciena by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 34,198 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,106,000 after acquiring an additional 3,336 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 25.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 541,097 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,326,000 after acquiring an additional 110,789 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 28.7% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,951 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ciena in the third quarter worth $259,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ciena Company 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.