Allianz Asset Management GmbH Has $6.25 Million Stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN)

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Ciena Corporation by 44.7%, acquiring an additional 31,947 shares, bringing their total holdings to 103,437 shares worth approximately $6.25 million.
• Ciena reported $0.42 earnings per share in the latest quarter, which was below analysts' expectations of $0.50, but its revenue rose 23.6% year-over-year to $1.13 billion.
• Analysts have varying opinions on Ciena's stock, with price targets ranging from $65 to $105, and an average rating of "Moderate Buy."

Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 44.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 103,437 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 31,947 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.07% of Ciena worth $6,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ciena by 108.6% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 328.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 364 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ciena by 73.7% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 356 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Ciena by 77.2% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 420 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 66.7% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 640 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CIEN. UBS Group increased their target price on Ciena from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ciena from $83.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $70.00 target price (down previously from $73.00) on shares of Ciena in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Ciena from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ciena presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.54.

Ciena Price Performance

NYSE CIEN traded up $0.91 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $93.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 644,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,321,896. The company's 50-day moving average is $80.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.12. Ciena Corporation has a 1-year low of $44.89 and a 1-year high of $101.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.40 and a quick ratio of 2.57.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.08). Ciena had a return on equity of 5.08% and a net margin of 2.46%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ciena news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 2,044 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.64, for a total value of $166,872.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 47,198 shares in the company, valued at $3,853,244.72. This represents a 4.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP David M. Rothenstein sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.93, for a total transaction of $199,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 202,370 shares in the company, valued at $16,175,434.10. This represents a 1.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,469 shares of company stock worth $2,817,891 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

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.