Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Purchased by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers LLC sharply increased its Ciena stake in the first quarter, boosting holdings by 730.7% to 21,698 shares valued at about $8.4 million.
• Ciena reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.64 beating estimates and revenue of $1.57 billion topping forecasts; revenue also rose 39.5% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally constructive on the stock, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $530.56, despite some recent insider selling.

Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 730.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 21,698 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 19,086 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Ciena were worth $8,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CIEN. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ciena by 71.0% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in Ciena by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 154 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Ciena by 635.7% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 103 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ciena during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of CIEN opened at $373.72 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $495.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $403.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.90 billion, a PE ratio of 124.57 and a beta of 1.27. 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 52-week low of $83.20 and a 52-week high of $637.51.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CIEN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of Ciena in a research report on Friday, May 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $416.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ciena from $285.00 to $508.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Northland Securities set a $450.00 price objective on Ciena in a report on Friday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $615.00 target price on Ciena in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Argus set a $650.00 target price on Ciena in a research report on Friday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $530.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Marc D. Graff sold 126 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total transaction of $58,741.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 126,955 shares in the company, valued at $59,186,421. This trade represents a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,586 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total value of $739,599.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 42,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,992,499.76. The trade was a 3.57% 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 ninety days, insiders sold 21,627 shares of company stock valued at $10,974,985. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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