ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Acquires Shares of 12,388 Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in Ciena during the fourth quarter, acquiring 12,388 shares valued at about $2.9 million.
• Institutional interest in Ciena remains strong, with large firms like JPMorgan Chase, Arrowstreet Capital, and Balyasny Asset Management increasing holdings; overall, 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutions and hedge funds.
• Analysts are generally bullish on Ciena, with multiple buy ratings and recent target price increases; the stock carries an average Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $367.56.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 12,388 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,897,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $292,310,000. Atreides Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $102,705,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,462,840 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $941,451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,787 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 2,174.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,143,855 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $166,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 3,577.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,032,393 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $83,965,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004,323 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Ciena from $355.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $425.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $280.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ciena from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $367.56.

Ciena Price Performance

CIEN opened at $546.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ciena Corporation has a 12 month low of $70.77 and a 12 month high of $583.78. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $427.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $299.27. The stock has a market cap of $77.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 348.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.79, for a total value of $566,148.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 45,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,297,072.39. This represents a 2.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $537.74, for a total transaction of $1,587,408.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $148,126,398.14. The trade was a 1.06% 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. Insiders sold a total of 42,974 shares of company stock worth $17,418,863 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Ciena 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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