Ciena Corporation $CIEN Stock Holdings Lifted by Global Retirement Partners LLC

Key Points

• Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its Ciena stake by 507.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 4,243 shares worth about $992,000.
• Ciena reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.35 beating estimates and revenue of $1.43 billion topping expectations; revenue also rose 33.1% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with several firms raising price targets, including TD Cowen to $675, while the overall consensus rating is Moderate Buy.

Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 507.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,243 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,545 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC's holdings in Ciena were worth $992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 1st quarter worth $395,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 139.6% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,253 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 3,061 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ciena by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 222,054 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $13,419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,117 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of Ciena by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,762 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Ciena in the 2nd quarter worth about $234,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total transaction of $1,226,585.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 281,365 shares in the company, valued at $116,909,971.15. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 46,341 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,768,105. This represents a 9.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,174 shares of company stock worth $18,878,661. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ciena Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE CIEN opened at $583.65 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ciena Corporation has a one year low of $70.77 and a one year high of $599.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $483.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $331.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.53 billion, a PE ratio of 371.75, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Ciena from $355.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $398.83.

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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