Allstate Corp Makes New $2.48 Million Investment in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Allstate Corp disclosed a new position in Ciena, buying 10,607 shares valued at about $2.48 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional ownership in Ciena remains very high, with the article noting that 91.99% of the stock is held by hedge funds and other institutions. Several smaller investors also added to or initiated positions during recent quarters.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including two recent sales by SVP Jason Phipps and Brodie Gage; over the last three months, insiders sold 44,174 shares worth about $18.9 million.

Allstate Corp acquired a new position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 10,607 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,481,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in Ciena during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Ciena by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 104.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 312 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total transaction of $9,021,337.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 68 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,866.40. This trade represents a 99.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.65, for a total value of $684,780.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,941 shares in the company, valued at $25,074,931.65. The trade was a 2.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 44,174 shares of company stock valued at $18,878,661. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CIEN. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Ciena from $430.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings raised Ciena from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $404.94.

Ciena Stock Performance

Ciena stock opened at $569.20 on Friday. Ciena Corporation has a 12-month low of $70.77 and a 12-month high of $605.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business's 50-day moving average price is $496.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $340.05. The stock has a market cap of $80.49 billion, a PE ratio of 362.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.18. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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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