Ciena Corporation $CIEN Stake Boosted by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Ciena by 7.6% to 40,102 shares (worth $9.38 million), as part of very high institutional ownership of the stock (91.99%).
• Strong quarterly results: Ciena reported $1.35 EPS vs. $1.17 expected and revenue of $1.43B (up 33.1% YoY), while the stock trades near its 52-week high with a $73.6B market cap and a high P/E of 331.4.
• Analyst sentiment is mostly positive, with a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating and a $355.59 target, and several firms (including Bank of America) raising price targets — BoA to $550.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,102 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,825 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Ciena were worth $9,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CIEN. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ciena in the third quarter worth $292,310,000. Atreides Management LP bought a new stake in Ciena in the second quarter worth $102,705,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Ciena by 23.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,462,840 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $941,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,787 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Ciena by 2,174.2% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,143,855 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $166,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Ciena by 3,577.9% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,032,393 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $83,965,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004,323 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ciena Stock Up 0.9%

CIEN stock opened at $520.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.14. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $63.99 and a 52-week high of $527.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $399.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $280.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 331.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.01.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.18. Ciena had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total transaction of $9,021,337.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 68 shares in the company, valued at $27,866.40. This represents a 99.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.79, for a total transaction of $566,148.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 45,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,297,072.39. This trade represents a 2.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 42,974 shares of company stock worth $16,615,505 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $355.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ciena presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $355.59.

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.

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