Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Acquired by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 23.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 512,203 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 97,505 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.36% of Ciena worth $180,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Ciena during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $404,948,000. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 7.0% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 413,332 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $160,468,000 after acquiring an additional 26,900 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 4.1% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 332,271 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $116,900,000 after acquiring an additional 12,986 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 24.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 266,384 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $93,719,000 after acquiring an additional 52,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Ciena by 309.8% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 223,203 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $86,509,000 after acquiring an additional 168,736 shares during the period. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ciena Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE CIEN opened at $242.93 on Monday. Ciena Corporation has a 52 week low of $168.22 and a 52 week high of $637.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $350.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $402.53. The company has a quick ratio of 3.17, a current ratio of 3.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.45 billion, a PE ratio of 54.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.33.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 25.33%. The company’s revenue was up 37.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 6.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In related news, Director Bruce L. Claflin sold 2,857 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.91, for a total value of $1,016,834.87. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,946,578.89. This represents a 25.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.18, for a total value of $974,691.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 240,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,284,802.68. This represents a 1.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 36,014 shares of company stock valued at $13,216,540 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CIEN shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 25th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Ciena from $508.00 to $394.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price target on Ciena from $538.43 to $406.81 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Evercore upgraded Ciena from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $375.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, September 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $485.93.

Ciena Company Profile

Ciena is a communications networking company that develops equipment, software and services used to build and manage telecommunications networks. Its offerings support the movement of data across fiber-optic, subsea and other network infrastructure.

The company’s products include optical transport systems, routing and switching equipment, and software for network automation and management. Ciena also provides consulting, implementation and support services to help customers plan, deploy and operate their networks.

Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Hanover, Maryland, Ciena serves communications service providers, governments, enterprises and other organizations around the world.