Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Takes Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 7,572 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,771,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CIEN. Forsta AP Fonden acquired a new position in Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,659,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ciena during the 4th quarter worth $189,891,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter valued at $3,407,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter valued at $1,663,000. Finally, National Pension Service acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at $49,679,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Ciena news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total transaction of $2,025,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 46,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,105. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total transaction of $9,021,337.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 68 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,866.40. The trade was a 99.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 44,174 shares of company stock worth $18,878,661 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Price Performance

CIEN opened at $580.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $82.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 369.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.24. Ciena Corporation has a 12 month low of $70.77 and a 12 month high of $605.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $500.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $341.74.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Ciena from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays increased their target price on Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on Ciena in a research note on Friday, May 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $416.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $406.61.

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.