7,315 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN Purchased by Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 7,315 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,574,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the second quarter worth about $404,948,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 168,736 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 440.9% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 165,887 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $62,894,000 after purchasing an additional 135,218 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 588.2% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 134,651 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $47,373,000 after purchasing an additional 115,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E20 Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,676,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CIEN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Evercore raised Ciena from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $375.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on Ciena from $475.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Argus set a $550.00 target price on Ciena and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $485.93.

Ciena Trading Down 4.6%

Shares of NYSE:CIEN traded down $13.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $280.35. 2,149,770 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,259,268. Ciena Corporation has a 1-year low of $168.22 and a 1-year high of $637.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $343.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $403.74. The company has a current ratio of 3.80, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $39.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.58, a PEG ratio of 2.36 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 the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.38. Ciena had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 25.33%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. Ciena’s revenue was up 37.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 6.00 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In other news, EVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,586 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.52, for a total value of $568,612.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,186,636.40. This represents a 3.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Marc Graff sold 97 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.19, for a total value of $34,453.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 107,136 shares in the company, valued at $38,053,635.84. This represents a 0.09% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,019 shares of company stock worth $11,065,093. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Ciena

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.