Nuveen Asset Management LLC Has $117.36 Million Stock Holdings in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,383,804 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 52,509 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.97% of Ciena worth $117,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Ciena by 73.7% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 356 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Ciena by 77.2% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 420 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in Ciena during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Northland Securities raised Ciena from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Ciena from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Northland Capmk raised Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Ciena from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ciena has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.62.

Ciena Price Performance

NYSE:CIEN traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $80.95. 761,474 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,025,341. The company has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 142.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.11. Ciena Co. has a 1-year low of $44.69 and a 1-year high of $101.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $65.70 and a 200 day moving average of $74.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 18,888 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 89,258 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,344,769.04. This represents a 17.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.18, for a total value of $443,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 391,749 shares in the company, valued at $25,534,199.82. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,588 shares of company stock valued at $3,950,907 over the last quarter. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.