Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Takes $2.23 Million Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Ciena during the fourth quarter, purchasing 9,552 shares valued at about $2.23 million.
• Institutional interest remains high, with hedge funds and other investors owning 91.99% of Ciena’s stock. Several firms also recently increased or initiated positions in the communications equipment maker.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Ciena, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $398.83, even as insiders have sold shares in recent months.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,552 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,234,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CIEN. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ciena during the first quarter valued at about $395,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 139.6% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,253 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 3,061 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 1.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 222,054 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $13,419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,117 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 14.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,762 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the second quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ciena from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Ciena from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $398.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.65, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 2.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total transaction of $9,021,337.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 68 shares in the company, valued at $27,866.40. The trade was a 99.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 44,174 shares of company stock worth $18,878,661 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Ciena Stock Up 5.9%

Shares of CIEN stock opened at $587.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 374.33, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.24. Ciena Corporation has a one year low of $70.77 and a one year high of $598.84. The company's fifty day moving average price is $473.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $326.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.14.

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