Prelude Capital Management LLC Sells 15,876 Shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN)

Prelude Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN – Get Rating) by 63.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,022 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 15,876 shares during the period. Prelude Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ciena were worth $365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ciena during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 884 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 98.3% in the 2nd quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 817 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Standard Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in Ciena during the third quarter worth $44,000. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 3,541 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total value of $181,157.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 476,864 shares in the company, valued at $24,396,362.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas Michael Nevens sold 21,737 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.31, for a total transaction of $1,615,276.47. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,114.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 3,541 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total transaction of $181,157.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 476,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,396,362.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 67,943 shares of company stock worth $3,918,806. 0.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ciena Stock Performance

NYSE CIEN opened at $49.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.67. Ciena Co. has a 12-month low of $38.33 and a 12-month high of $61.97. The company has a market capitalization of $7.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.54, a current ratio of 3.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 6th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.04 million. Ciena had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Ciena Co. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CIEN. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Ciena from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Ciena from $68.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Finally, Cowen increased their price target on Ciena from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy 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 $64.00.

Ciena Company Profile

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Ciena Corp. engages in the provision of network and communication infrastructure. It operates through the following segments: Networking Platforms, Platform Software and Services, Blue Planet Automation Software and Services, and Global Services. The Networking Platforms segment consists of Converged Packet Optical and Packet Networking portfolios.