Ciena Corporation $CIEN is Washington Capital Management Inc.’s 10th Largest Position

Washington Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 15.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,660 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,560 shares during the period. Ciena accounts for about 1.4% of Washington Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Washington Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ciena were worth $1,990,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Ciena during the 3rd quarter valued at about $172,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena in the third quarter valued at $287,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ciena during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ciena in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,071,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $268,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.84, for a total value of $121,462.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 39,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,831,833.28. This represents a 1.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Michael Nevens sold 8,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.66, for a total transaction of $1,921,741.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,116,746.52. This represents a 47.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 143,514 shares of company stock worth $32,235,186. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ciena News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Ciena this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company leadership pushes back on competitive concerns — Ciena’s CSO expressed confidence versus rivals Nokia and Cisco, signaling management believes the company can defend pricing and market share in optical and packet networking markets. Ciena CSO confident against competitors Nokia, Cisco
• Positive Sentiment: Equity coverage and reprints position Ciena as an AI-era infrastructure winner — multiple write-ups (incl. Yahoo Finance / InsiderMonkey) argue Ciena is benefiting from AI-driven demand for high-capacity optical networks, supporting revenue and margin upside expectations. CIEN emerged as high-growth AI-era winner (Yahoo) CIEN emerged as high-growth AI-era winner (InsiderMonkey)
• Positive Sentiment: Sector technical tailwind: AI optics and fiber demand — trade press highlights a surge in AI-focused optical technology and fiber buildouts that directly benefits Ciena’s product portfolio and addressable market. This reinforces revenue growth potential beyond traditional telecom capex cycles. AI optics — Ciena’s surge and the AI fibre wave
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/market lists support momentum — Zacks included CIEN in a “5 growth stocks to buy” list and named CIEN a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), which can attract buy-side flows and momentum traders. 5 Growth Stocks to Buy in January Best Growth Stocks to Buy for Jan. 15
• Neutral Sentiment: Inclusion in investor-curated lists — Steven Cress’s Top 10 stocks piece lists high-conviction names for 2026; if CIEN is included, it provides retail/ETF visibility but is less actionable than earnings or contract news. Steven Cress’ Top 10 Stocks For 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by senior executives — filings show Joseph Cumello and Patrick Gallagher sold sizable blocks (~11.9k and ~11.6k shares). While not necessarily a signal of company health, insider sales can unsettle sentiment, especially after big run-ups. Joseph Cumello Sells 11,929 Shares Patrick Gallagher Sells 11,618 Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Renewed focus on multi-year earnings weakness — some coverage flagged a recent pullback and that CIEN’s three-year earnings decline could be coming back into investor focus, which may cap multiple expansion despite revenue momentum. Pulling back 3.1% this week — earnings focus

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Northland Securities set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Ciena and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ciena from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.50.

Ciena Price Performance

NYSE CIEN opened at $243.74 on Friday. Ciena Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.21 and a 1 year high of $261.13. The business’s fifty day moving average is $217.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 286.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.73.

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

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.