2,977 Shares in Ciena Corporation $CIEN Acquired by Precision Wealth Strategies LLC

Key Points

• Precision Wealth Strategies LLC opened a new position in Ciena, buying 2,977 shares valued at about $1.156 million in the first quarter.
• Institutional interest in Ciena remains high, with 91.99% of the company’s stock owned by institutions. Several other funds also added new stakes during the quarter.
• Ciena reported a strong quarter, posting $1.64 EPS versus the $1.46 consensus and $1.57 billion in revenue, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average price target of $530.56.

Precision Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,977 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,156,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 1st quarter worth $1,458,000. AIA Group Ltd acquired a new position in Ciena during the first quarter worth about $4,006,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the first quarter worth about $6,340,000. Pavion Blue Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the first quarter worth about $272,000. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,529,000. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CIEN has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Ciena from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $615.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $530.56.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.05, for a total transaction of $1,659,171.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 272,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $153,163,683.45. The trade was a 1.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,629 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total transaction of $1,225,639.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 62,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,082,488.40. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,627 shares of company stock worth $10,974,985. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ciena Stock Performance

NYSE:CIEN opened at $373.72 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $495.15 and its 200-day moving average is $403.75. Ciena Corporation has a 1-year low of $83.20 and a 1-year high of $637.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $52.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 124.57 and a beta of 1.27.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.18. Ciena had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ciena Company Profile

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.

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