Ameriprise Financial Inc. Trims Stake in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lessened its position in shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 220,696 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 9,678 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s holdings in Ciena were worth $18,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CIEN. Ardsley Advisory Partners LP purchased a new stake in Ciena during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,120,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ciena during the fourth quarter worth about $8,673,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,238,284 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $105,019,000 after buying an additional 257,197 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Ciena by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 118,690 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,066,000 after purchasing an additional 1,930 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Trading Up 0.3%

CIEN stock opened at $79.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.93, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.11. Ciena Co. has a 1-year low of $44.69 and a 1-year high of $101.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CIEN. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Ciena from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their target price on shares of Ciena from $73.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 target price (down from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Northland Securities raised shares of Ciena from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.62.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, SVP David M. Rothenstein sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.88, for a total value of $172,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 207,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,283,645.60. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.16, for a total value of $31,556.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 49,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,435,601.52. The trade was a 0.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,288 shares of company stock valued at $3,211,852 over the last quarter. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.