Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 102,205 Shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its holdings in shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,613,819 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 102,205 shares during the period. Ciena comprises 0.4% of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Ciena were worth $221,678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CIEN. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Ciena by 925.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 328 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Ciena during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Ciena by 409.8% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 520 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Ciena by 152.8% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 847 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in Ciena in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ciena Stock Performance

CIEN opened at $65.70 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.72. The firm has a market cap of $9.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.27, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.91. Ciena Co. has a 1-year low of $43.30 and a 1-year high of $101.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bruce L. Claflin sold 16,912 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.96, for a total transaction of $1,436,843.52. Following the sale, the director now owns 59,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,042,121.12. This trade represents a 22.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.41, for a total value of $519,588.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 398,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,453,129.09. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 59,942 shares of company stock valued at $5,025,949. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ciena from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $84.00 to $88.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ciena from $84.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Ciena and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Northland Securities upgraded shares of Ciena from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $60.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.38.

Ciena 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.