Acadian Asset Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC has acquired a new stake in Ciena Corporation, purchasing 61,344 shares valued at approximately $3,705,000 during the first quarter.
• Several other institutional investors have also increased their holdings in Ciena, with Ion Asset Management Ltd. boosting its stake by 6.3% and Nuveen LLC acquiring a position valued at about $70 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Ciena shares significantly, with UBS Group adjusting its target from $78 to $120, reflecting a positive outlook for the company.

Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 61,344 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,705,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ion Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ciena by 6.3% in the first quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,356,752 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $81,989,000 after purchasing an additional 80,426 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 1st quarter valued at about $70,065,000. Analog Century Management LP increased its holdings in Ciena by 33.0% in the first quarter. Analog Century Management LP now owns 841,311 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $50,840,000 after buying an additional 208,509 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Ciena during the first quarter valued at approximately $49,221,000. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in Ciena by 1.3% in the first quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 680,837 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $41,143,000 after purchasing an additional 8,777 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.94, for a total value of $31,829.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,934,791.92. The trade was a 0.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,325 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.50, for a total value of $187,162.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 84,833 shares in the company, valued at $6,829,056.50. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,619 shares of company stock valued at $2,796,803 over the last three months. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CIEN shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Ciena from $78.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Ciena from $100.00 to $127.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Ciena from $95.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Barclays increased their price target on Ciena from $102.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Ciena from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.32.

Ciena Stock Down 1.0%

CIEN stock opened at $131.15 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a PE ratio of 135.20, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.16. Ciena Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.21 and a twelve month high of $134.31. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.86.

Ciena 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.

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