DigitalBridge Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

DigitalBridge Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 20.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 309,880 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 80,973 shares during the quarter. Ciena makes up approximately 3.5% of DigitalBridge Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. DigitalBridge Group Inc.’s holdings in Ciena were worth $45,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ciena by 41.7% during the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 2,115 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 106,068 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $15,288,000 after buying an additional 1,284 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Ciena by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 271,494 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $39,549,000 after buying an additional 6,006 shares in the last quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ciena during the third quarter valued at $2,227,000. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ciena in the third quarter valued at about $226,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Patrick Gallagher sold 11,618 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 50,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,414,350.80. This represents a 18.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 11,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.82, for a total value of $2,741,522.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 49,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,370,344.50. The trade was a 19.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 147,131 shares of company stock valued at $34,898,686. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE:CIEN opened at $369.15 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $289.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.81. Ciena Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.21 and a fifty-two week high of $379.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 235.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.07.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 12.09%. Ciena’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 21st. Bank of America raised shares of Ciena from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $355.00 in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $320.65.

Key Stories Impacting Ciena

Here are the key news stories impacting Ciena this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong AI/infrastructure demand and recent earnings strength: Analysts point to AI-driven network spending and a recent quarterly beat as the core drivers of Ciena’s multi-month rally, supporting near-term revenue growth expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings estimate upgrades: Street earnings estimates have been revised higher, reinforcing the bullish thesis that Ciena can capitalize on growing bandwidth and AI-related infrastructure spending. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks momentum / Strong Buy placements: Ciena has been added repeatedly to Zacks’ top momentum/Strong Buy lists, which can attract momentum-driven flows and ETF/institutional buying. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Share-price milestones and reports of institutional buying: Coverage notes Ciena hitting multi-year/52-week highs and increased institutional interest, which can fuel further upside as momentum and FOMO push flows. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Featured in fund commentary: Madison Small Cap Fund named Ciena a standout performer in its letter — a visibility note but not necessarily a catalyst for outsized flows. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader tech-event context: Coverage of Nvidia’s GTC showed muted moves across some tech names after the keynote; this suggests some event-driven volatility could be short-lived and not specific to Ciena. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and cost concerns: Analysts warn that the stock’s rapid run-up leaves Ciena with a rich valuation and that rising costs could pressure margins, limiting near-term upside and increasing downside risk on any revenue miss. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Competition/relative-attractiveness: Some analysts argue peers like Arista may be a better risk/reward right now, which could divert capital if investors rotate to names with cleaner margins or lower multiples. Read More.

Ciena 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.