Allianz Asset Management GmbH Buys 70,551 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Ciena Corporation by 68.2% in the second quarter, acquiring an additional 70,551 shares, bringing their total ownership to 173,988 shares.
• Several analysts raised their price targets for Ciena, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. increasing theirs from $105 to $140, resulting in a consensus target price of $137.53 and a "Moderate Buy" rating for the stock.
• Insider activity has been notable, with CEO Gary B. Smith selling 6,800 shares recently, reflecting a 2.18% decrease in his ownership stake.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 68.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,988 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 70,551 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.12% of Ciena worth $14,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ion Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Ciena by 6.3% in the 1st 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. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in Ciena by 375.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,235,696 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $100,499,000 after purchasing an additional 975,792 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 1st quarter valued at about $70,065,000. Analog Century Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Ciena by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Analog Century Management LP now owns 841,311 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $50,840,000 after acquiring an additional 208,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 1st quarter valued at about $49,221,000. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on CIEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ciena from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Ciena from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Ciena from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Bank of America raised their price target on Ciena from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised Ciena from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $127.50 to $175.00 in a report on Friday, September 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.36, for a total value of $59,276.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,884,992.08. This trade represents a 0.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total transaction of $631,924.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 305,157 shares in the company, valued at $28,358,240.01. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,374 shares of company stock worth $5,936,444 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CIEN opened at $173.20 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $127.26 and its 200 day moving average is $94.33. The company has a current ratio of 3.28, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ciena Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.21 and a 1-year high of $177.79. The stock has a market cap of $24.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 178.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.15.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 6th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ciena had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The firm had revenue of $844.44 million for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Ciena

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CIEN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.