Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Purchased by DNB Asset Management AS

DNB Asset Management AS raised its position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 1,095.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,527 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,225 shares during the quarter. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Ciena were worth $6,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Ciena by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 31,161 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,288,000 after buying an additional 3,156 shares in the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,726,000. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 164.0% during the fourth quarter. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. now owns 660,988 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $154,585,000 after purchasing an additional 410,588 shares during the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 222.7% during the fourth quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,596 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,712,000 after purchasing an additional 8,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the third quarter valued at approximately $568,000. 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 recent research reports. Barclays upped their target price on Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on Ciena in a report on Friday, May 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $416.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Ciena from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $398.83.

Ciena Stock Down 5.6%

Shares of CIEN stock opened at $523.56 on Tuesday. Ciena Corporation has a 1 year low of $70.77 and a 1 year high of $598.84. The stock has a market cap of $74.03 billion, a PE ratio of 333.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $458.74 and its 200-day moving average is $318.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.81.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.18. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total transaction of $1,226,585.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 281,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,909,971.15. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total value of $9,021,337.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 68 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,866.40. This trade represents a 99.69% 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 40,022 shares of company stock worth $16,534,709. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Ciena

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.