Ciena Corporation $CIEN Stock: Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Grows Stake

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments increased its Ciena stake by 440.9% in the third quarter, adding 135,218 shares to hold 165,887 shares valued at about $62.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own nearly 92% of Ciena’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $485.93; recent targets include $550 from Northland and Evercore and $605 from JPMorgan.
• Ciena beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $2.11 versus $1.73 expected and revenue up 37% year over year to $1.67 billion. The shares opened at $272.59, below their 50- and 200-day moving averages.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 440.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 165,887 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 135,218 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.12% of Ciena worth $62,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Ciena during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $404,948,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Ciena by 23.5% in the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 512,203 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $180,239,000 after purchasing an additional 97,505 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 7.0% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 413,332 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $160,468,000 after purchasing an additional 26,900 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 4.1% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 332,271 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $116,900,000 after purchasing an additional 12,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Ciena by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 266,384 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $93,719,000 after purchasing an additional 52,382 shares during the period. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other news, CEO Gary Smith sold 2,952 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.18, for a total value of $974,691.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 240,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,284,802.68. This represents a 1.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Marc D. Graff sold 4,995 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.72, for a total value of $2,151,446.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 107,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,310,583.68. This represents a 4.44% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,014 shares of company stock valued at $13,216,540. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CIEN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Northland Securities set a $550.00 target price on shares of Ciena and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Ciena from $635.00 to $605.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Evercore upgraded Ciena from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $375.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, September 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $485.93.

Ciena Price Performance

Ciena stock opened at $272.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $346.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $402.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.66 billion, a PE ratio of 60.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 3.80, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Ciena Corporation has a 12-month low of $168.22 and a 12-month high of $637.51.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.38. Ciena had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 25.33%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 37.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 6.00 EPS for the current year.

Ciena Company Profile

Ciena is a communications networking company that develops equipment, software and services used to build and manage telecommunications networks. Its offerings support the movement of data across fiber-optic, subsea and other network infrastructure. The company's products include optical transport systems, routing and switching equipment, and software for network automation and management. Ciena also provides consulting, implementation and support services to help customers plan, deploy and operate their networks.

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