Ciena Corporation $CIEN Stock: M & L Capital Management Ltd Increases Position

Key Points

• M & L Capital Management increased its Ciena stake by 59.8% in the third quarter, holding 100,580 shares worth approximately $35.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 91.99% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Ciena receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $485.93, despite some firms recently lowering targets.
• Ciena reported quarterly EPS of $2.11, beating estimates of $1.73, while revenue rose 37% year over year to $1.67 billion. Shares opened at $351.74, well below their 52-week high of $637.51.

M & L Capital Management Ltd grew its holdings in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 100,580 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 37,650 shares during the quarter. Ciena makes up about 7.3% of M & L Capital Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. M & L Capital Management Ltd owned approximately 0.07% of Ciena worth $35,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Ciena in the second quarter valued at $404,948,000. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Ciena by 7.0% in the 1st 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. raised its holdings in Ciena by 4.1% in the 3rd 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. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 321,825 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $124,942,000 after purchasing an additional 31,098 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 266,384 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $93,719,000 after purchasing an additional 52,382 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CIEN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price target (down from $660.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ciena from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on Ciena from $516.00 to $413.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Ciena from $475.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ciena has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $485.93.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of CIEN opened at $351.74 on Wednesday. Ciena Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $168.22 and a fifty-two week high of $637.51. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $366.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $400.23. The stock has a market cap of $49.88 billion, a PE ratio of 78.51 and a beta of 1.28.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. Ciena's revenue for the quarter was up 37.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 6.00 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.02, for a total value of $1,027,355.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 225,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $78,462,849.10. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Marc Graff sold 97 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.19, for a total value of $34,453.43. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 107,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,053,635.84. The trade was a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,014 shares of company stock valued at $13,457,571. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Ciena Profile

Ciena Corporation NYSE: CIEN is a networking technology company that provides hardware, software, and services for communications networks. Its solutions help telecommunications carriers, cloud providers, enterprises, government organizations, and research institutions build, manage, and automate high-capacity networks.

The company's portfolio includes optical networking systems, routing and switching platforms, network automation software, and network management tools. Ciena also offers consulting, implementation, maintenance, and professional services designed to support network planning, deployment, optimization, and ongoing operations.

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