Ciena Corporation $CIEN is Anatole Investment Management Ltd's Largest Position

Key Points

• Anatole Investment Management trimmed its Ciena stake by 4.2% in the fourth quarter but still held 501,598 shares, making Ciena its largest position at 19.4% of the portfolio.
• Insider selling has been notable recently, including sales by SVP Jason Phipps and CEO Gary B. Smith; over the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,374 shares worth about $20.35 million.
• Ciena beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $1.64 on revenue of $1.57 billion, with revenue up 39.5% year over year. Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $530.56.

Anatole Investment Management Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 501,598 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 22,090 shares during the quarter. Ciena makes up 19.4% of Anatole Investment Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Anatole Investment Management Ltd owned 0.35% of Ciena worth $117,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in Ciena during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ciena by 71.0% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Ciena by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Ciena by 104.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in Ciena during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 68 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,866.40. The trade was a 99.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.02, for a total value of $1,349,123.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 266,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,843,817.10. This trade represents a 1.10% decrease in their position. 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 90 days, insiders have sold 45,374 shares of company stock valued at $20,349,470. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CIEN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $615.00 price objective on Ciena in a research note on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Northland Securities set a $450.00 price objective on Ciena in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ciena from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Ciena from $470.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $530.56.

Ciena Stock Up 1.3%

CIEN stock opened at $435.91 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ciena Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $73.23 and a fifty-two week high of $637.51. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $521.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $370.05. The stock has a market cap of $61.70 billion, a PE ratio of 145.30 and a beta of 1.24.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 EPS for the current 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.