Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Purchased by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Ciena Corporation by 49.4% during the 1st quarter, acquiring 4,238 additional shares, bringing its total holdings to 12,809 shares valued at $788,000.
• Several hedge funds also adjusted their positions in Ciena, with AdvisorNet Financial Inc. increasing its holdings by an extraordinary 9,162.5% in the same quarter.
• Equities analysts have a mixed outlook on Ciena, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.54, reflecting varied assessments from different firms.

Ethic Inc. lifted its position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 49.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,809 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,238 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Ciena were worth $788,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ciena by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 534 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of Ciena by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 636 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Ciena by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 640 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Ciena by 9,162.5% in the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 741 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the period. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI reissued a "mixed" rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Ciena from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research raised Ciena to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on Ciena from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $70.00 price target (down from $73.00) on shares of Ciena in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 2,044 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.64, for a total transaction of $166,872.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 47,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,853,244.72. This represents a 4.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.50, for a total transaction of $187,162.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 84,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,829,056.50. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,694,781. Insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Ciena Trading Down 2.5%

CIEN stock opened at $86.5670 on Thursday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $84.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 3.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.21 and a 52-week high of $101.44. The firm has a market cap of $12.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.23, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.11.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.08). Ciena had a return on equity of 5.08% and a net margin of 2.46%.The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Ciena has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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