William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $355.56 Million Stock Holdings in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

William Blair Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 9.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,440,888 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 267,652 shares during the quarter. Ciena comprises 0.9% of William Blair Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ciena were worth $355,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Ciena by 50.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ciena by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,475 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $943,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Ciena by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,071 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 42.5% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 312 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Trading Up 2.2%

CIEN opened at $348.53 on Friday. Ciena Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.21 and a twelve month high of $365.90. The company has a fifty day moving average of $266.29 and a 200-day moving average of $197.73. The stock has a market cap of $49.30 billion, a PE ratio of 410.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. Ciena had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 21st. B. Riley Financial reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, December 12th. Northland Securities set a $190.00 price target on shares of Ciena and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ciena in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ciena presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $252.13.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In other Ciena news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.51, for a total transaction of $884,153.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,549,895.88. This represents a 0.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Patrick Gallagher sold 11,618 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.45, for a total transaction of $2,642,514.10. Following the sale, the director directly owned 50,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,414,350.80. This trade represents a 18.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 160,083 shares of company stock worth $37,204,740 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ciena Company Profile

Ciena Corporation (NYSE: CIEN) is a global supplier of telecommunications networking equipment, software and services. The company develops high-capacity optical transport systems and packet-optical platforms that enable service providers, cloud operators and large enterprises to build, manage and scale their networks. Ciena’s product portfolio includes coherent optical solutions, packet networking platforms and a suite of network automation software designed to optimize bandwidth, reduce latency and simplify network operations.

In addition to hardware offerings, Ciena provides professional services and support, including network design, implementation and ongoing maintenance.