Graham Capital Management L.P. Buys 16,720 Shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN)

Graham Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,235 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 16,720 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.08% of Ciena worth $9,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at about $245,000. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Ciena by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,459 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $887,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the fourth quarter worth approximately $421,000. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ciena during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $755,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 38,350 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $3,252,000 after purchasing an additional 5,684 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.16, for a total value of $31,556.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,435,601.52. The trade was a 0.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $488,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 368,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,522,472. This trade represents a 1.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,288 shares of company stock valued at $3,211,852. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Ciena Price Performance

CIEN traded up $1.42 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $80.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 76,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,016,476. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $64.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Ciena Co. has a 12 month low of $44.69 and a 12 month high of $101.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on CIEN shares. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Ciena from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Northland Capmk raised shares of Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $73.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $89.00 target price (down previously from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.62.

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.