Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Acquired by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Ciena by 337.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 54,467 shares valued at about $12.8 million.
• Ciena reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $1.64 EPS versus $1.46 expected and revenue of $1.57 billion, up 39.5% year over year.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with analysts assigning a Moderate Buy consensus and a target price of about $530.56, while insiders have also been selling shares in recent months.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 337.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,467 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 42,030 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Ciena were worth $12,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CIEN. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in Ciena during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 71.0% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 154 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Stock Up 4.5%

CIEN stock opened at $484.29 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $68.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 161.43 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ciena Corporation has a twelve month low of $76.89 and a twelve month high of $637.51. The company's 50 day moving average is $518.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $380.77.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.18. Ciena had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on Ciena in a report on Friday, May 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $416.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $405.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Ciena from $350.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Northland Securities set a $450.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ciena from $372.00 to $607.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ciena presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $530.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total value of $9,021,337.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 68 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,866.40. This represents a 99.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total value of $1,226,585.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 281,365 shares in the company, valued at $116,909,971.15. This represents a 1.04% 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. Insiders sold 40,374 shares of company stock worth $18,324,470 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

About Ciena

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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