BNP Paribas Financial Markets Grows Position in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 157.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,536 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 68,285 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.08% of Ciena worth $9,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ciena by 108.6% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 328.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 364 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 73.7% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 356 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Ciena by 77.2% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 420 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in Ciena during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $89.00 price objective (down previously from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays set a $100.00 price objective on Ciena and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Northland Capmk raised Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ciena from $88.00 to $76.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ciena currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 18,888 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.88, for a total transaction of $1,131,013.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 89,258 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,344,769.04. This represents a 17.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.54, for a total transaction of $404,872.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 375,680 shares in the company, valued at $22,367,987.20. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,288 shares of company stock worth $3,211,852 in the last quarter. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CIEN traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $79.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,405,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,025,791. The company has a current ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Ciena Co. has a 1 year low of $44.69 and a 1 year high of $101.44. The company has a market capitalization of $11.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $64.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.34.

Ciena Company Profile

Ciena Corporation provides hardware and software services for delivery of video, data, and voice traffic metro, aggregation, and access communications network worldwide. The company's Networking Platforms segment offers convergence of coherent optical transport, open optical networking, optical transport network switching, IP routing, and switching services.