Voya Investment Management LLC Increases Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Ciena Corporation by 116.7%, acquiring a total of 72,324 shares valued at approximately $4.37 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Bessemer Group Inc. and MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB, raised their positions in Ciena during the first quarter, indicating increased institutional interest in the company.
• Ciena has received multiple analyst upgrades recently, with target prices ranging between $100 and $155, reflecting a positive outlook and leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 116.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,324 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 38,942 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Ciena worth $4,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 516.6% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 18,719 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 15,683 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 322.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 34,035 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,912,000 after purchasing an additional 25,986 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ciena in the first quarter worth about $219,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 40.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of Ciena in the first quarter worth about $581,000. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CIEN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus boosted their price objective on Ciena from $100.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research raised Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. B. Riley reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $113.00 price objective (up from $90.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ciena from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ciena currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.75.

Ciena Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:CIEN traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $138.48. The stock had a trading volume of 3,140,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,074,823. Ciena Corporation has a one year low of $49.21 and a one year high of $139.74. The company has a market capitalization of $19.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 142.76, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $99.81 and a 200 day moving average of $80.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In other Ciena news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total transaction of $631,924.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 305,157 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,358,240.01. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.00, for a total value of $46,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 42,918 shares in the company, valued at $5,665,176. This trade represents a 0.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,769 shares of company stock worth $3,769,163 in the last ninety days. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company 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.