Jon,

Couldn't have asked for more. As you know by now, they raised guidance, announced $5 billion buyback, have $1.26 billion in backorders. What's not to like? Oh, and helped by wariness about buying Heiwei (sp?) equipment. I think you finally got some shares called away, lol. My expy is Dec. 21st. Had bought 500 sh. @ $33, wrote them for strike $33 with almost a $2 premiuim. They should get taken next week, I'd guess.

Happily, the thesis of buy the options bump near earnings remains intact.

I have 1000 shares at 34 strike and 500 shares at 33 strike and as you know I wanted them called away - 2 week trade. Just under 8% gain in total.  So I am very happy, unless something stupid happens tomorrow before close. Will still have 2k core position.

I also sold another 2k INFN today (huge loss) to lower my tax exposure and INFN exposure.

Ugh, might have to bite the bullet and unload more INFN.

from the CIEN CC:

Paul Silverstein -- Cowen and Company -- Managing Director

Thanks, guys. A handful of discrete questions. First off, can you characterize pricing environment and have you seen any change in pricing behavior from Coriant/Infinera? ...

Gary B. Smith -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Let me run through the first one. On the pricing environment, overall, the dynamics that we're seeing are not new, and so, I would say no real changes in the overall pricing environment. You've still got some very desperate competitors out there, and that dynamic is still in play, but as Scott commented, I think it's now about a flight to quality, and folks that are going to be around can sustain their roadmap and have got global scale, so that dynamic has not particularly changed.

Good find. INFN has all the makings of a company in a fight for its survival.  The Coriant acquisition was puzzling to me.  Management has been terrible.

I bit the bullet and no longer hold any INFN. What was once the highlight of my trading ability became my biggest downfall. I do not think I fell in love with it so much as I thought its prospects just couldn't have changed so drastically. I think I was up ~150k at one point and lost about 110k on it in last 12 months. Sucks at levels I cannot even come to bear, but also feels good to be out from under it hoping at 12 it gets backto 15, at 9 it gets to 12, and at 6 it gets to 9, and at 4 it gets to anything higher, etc.  I thought as 5G rolls out it would have to renbound some, but now I don't think it can secure any big wins in this enviroment with subpar tech and any smaller wins will be won by undercutting at a cost such that I cannot see it getting through 5G with any certainity uinless their R&D comes up with something different.  And how likely is that at this point?

 I am so sorry to hear.  I too wonder why they have not been able to execute in this environment.  5G deployments are just begining, so INFN has very limited time (a year to maybe 18 motnhs) in the big markets (US and Europe) to secure wins.  After that it will be the developing and third world countries where the contracts are not as juicy.

Jon, lt,

I'm sorry to hear that the prospects for INFN are so limited. But your logic is pretty impeccable. And it has me considering rather than hiding my head in the sand, to take my lumps here and exit the position. Jon's prior 'hoping' for 15 at 12, 12 at 9, etc. has such a familiar ring to it when I've followed stocks all the way to the bottom. Funny thing is, a year or couple of years ago I really took a bath when I sold 1/2 my position at about $5.10. If I exit here, it's not nearly that big a deal.

That said, I don't know why NOK has been behaving so well lately. I'm hopeful (not based on anything I know) that it won't descend into the mid-$5's again.

On firmer ground, 8 analysts raised their PTs for CIEN today. Kudos to Jon on 8% 2 week trade. The shares I lost were a similar deal, more core is still intact.

The narrative for INFN now vs. a few years back when both were at 5 is not the same IMO. They had better teach as 4G was rolling out and were a bit ahead of some players. But now they seem to be behind and their only wins are coming by undercutting price which kills margins. They are too small to surviv for long this way and 5G is likely t be a VERY long cycle based on what we have seen from 4G. I just don't see how they can do much better over the next few years, so I cut my losses. A few months back I was still thinking they'd have to make some money with 5G and therefore planned to be patient, but I am nto so sure that is true any more. And if the next earnings are bad - similar to what has been ongoing - maybe it drops to 2.5-3, then I am hoping for 5 or 6, etc. I hope it gets to 10 again or even better, but I am happy to be done with the stock.

On INFN, it is selling for such a low valuation, pretty much at levels as if it were going under.  I truly think that on any decent news the stock can pop back into the 5s.  That said, this is just a hunch and with INFN no hunches have worked all year round, it has been pretty much all downhill. 

NOK is most definitely got much better prospects.  True, management has failed to set expectations correctly, but the 5G cycle is starting and that will be an incredible tail wind.  Then the US government is most definitely pushing all allies to drop Huawei, and having a great deal of success in doing so.  What that means is that the bigger countries in Europe, Japan, South Korea will be divided between Ericson and Nokia.  

Very nice earnings, congrats.

Softbank announced today that it will stop buying Huaweii equipment, it will replace 4G equipment and not include it in 5G networks. Stated they did not have too much of it, but that it would be time consuming and expensive to do.  The tide seems to be gathering momentum. BT did so a few days back. Not sue if NTT Docomo uses Huaweii, but given how much it has penetrated Telecoms around the Globe, I would not be surprised if it does and announces similar news.

All three Japanese Telcos will shun Huaweii and ZTE equipment

cnbc.com/20...o.html