Gary B. Smith, who serves as President and CEO of Ciena Corp (NASDAQ: CIEN), reported a sale of 2,952 shares of common stock on February 17, 2026, according to a Form 4 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The dispositions were completed at a weighted average price of $299.5113 per share, with individual executions occurring between $287.74 and $307.58. The aggregate value of the transaction was $884,157.
The filing shows that Smith's direct holdings in Ciena now total 298,988 shares, a figure that incorporates unvested Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) and Performance Stock Units (PSUs). The transaction was made pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan established on October 4, 2025.
Analyst landscape
Market commentary on Ciena remains divided. Stifel has increased its price target for Ciena to $280 and reaffirmed a Buy rating, linking its outlook to expectations for rising networking intensity driven by AI-related networking needs. By contrast, Bank of America has downgraded the company to Neutral and removed its price target entirely. BofA pointed to the stock's elevated valuation and potential for peak margins as reasons for caution, and flagged risks tied to slower orders and backlog trends.
Bank of America also noted that Ciena lacks a pure play optionality on AI deployments, a factor that contributed to its more cautious stance. At the same time, BofA acknowledged that major cloud and neocloud customers have robust deployment plans, suggesting that demand for Ciena's networking hardware remains present among key buyers.
What the filing and commentary show
- The insider sale was executed under a prearranged 10b5-1 plan dated October 4, 2025, indicating the trades were planned in advance.
- The CEO retains a substantial direct position in Ciena, including unvested equity awards.
- Analysts are split: one firm raised its target and kept a Buy rating on expectations of AI-driven networking demand, while another downgraded the stock amid valuation and margin concerns despite recognizing continued customer deployments.
The transaction and the varied analyst assessments underscore a mixed investor picture around Ciena's near-term valuation and the growth trajectory tied to AI networking. The sale itself was relatively modest in size compared with Smith's remaining holdings but was sizable in dollar terms at $884,157.