Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Holdings in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. significantly increased its holdings in Ciena Corporation by 1,883.5%, owning 787,266 shares valued at approximately $64.03 million at the end of the second quarter.
• Institutional ownership of Ciena stock is high, with 91.99% held by institutional investors and hedge funds, indicating strong confidence in the company.
• Ciena stock has performed well, recently upgrading to a "strong-buy" rating by Wolfe Research, with a price target increase from $135 to $155 by Bank of America.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 1,883.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 787,266 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 747,576 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.56% of Ciena worth $64,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CIEN. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ciena by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 534 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 34.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 636 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Ciena by 66.7% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 640 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Ciena by 9,162.5% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 741 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Ciena by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,147 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. B. Riley reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $113.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Ciena from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Ciena to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Ciena from $120.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Northland Securities set a $100.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.46.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of CIEN traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $139.34. 1,370,869 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,367,547. Ciena Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.21 and a twelve month high of $141.43. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $100.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.55. The company has a market cap of $19.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 143.85, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.16.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $926,160.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,357 shares in the company, valued at $40,636,223.40. The trade was a 2.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,325 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.50, for a total value of $187,162.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,829,056.50. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 39,769 shares of company stock valued at $3,769,163. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ciena Company 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.