Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Bought by DNB Asset Management AS

Key Points

• DNB Asset Management AS increased its Ciena stake by 1,095.8% in the fourth quarter, ending with 27,527 shares valued at about $6.44 million. Institutional investors now own 91.99% of the company.
• Several insiders sold shares recently, including SVP Brodie Gage and SVP Jason Phipps, with total insider sales over the last 90 days reaching 40,022 shares worth $16.5 million.
• Analysts remain largely positive on Ciena, with multiple firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating and average target of $398.83. The company also beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting 33.1% year-over-year revenue growth.

DNB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 1,095.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,527 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 25,225 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS's holdings in Ciena were worth $6,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ciena during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Ciena during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ciena by 50.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ciena during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ciena by 104.0% during the third quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total value of $2,025,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 46,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,105. The trade was a 9.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the business'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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 68 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,866.40. This trade represents a 99.69% 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 40,022 shares of company stock worth $16,534,709. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CIEN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Ciena from $355.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore set a $330.00 price objective on Ciena in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ciena from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $398.83.

Ciena Trading Down 5.6%

NYSE:CIEN opened at $523.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.81. Ciena Corporation has a one year low of $70.77 and a one year high of $598.84. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $458.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $318.47. The stock has a market cap of $74.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 333.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.24.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.18. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ciena 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CIEN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report).

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.