Convergence Investment Partners LLC Acquires 10,677 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Convergence Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Ciena by 90.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 10,677 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 22,523 shares worth about $5.27 million.
• Ciena reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.35 versus $1.17 expected and revenue of $1.43 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with several firms raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at Moderate Buy with an average target of $381.44.

Convergence Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 90.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,523 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,677 shares during the period. Ciena accounts for 1.0% of Convergence Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Convergence Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Ciena were worth $5,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Ciena by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 710 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Ciena by 50.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ciena by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,549 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Ciena by 1.7% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,772 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $695,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Ciena by 1.3% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,475 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $943,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CIEN opened at $554.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.81. The company has a market cap of $78.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 353.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The firm's fifty day moving average is $454.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $315.14. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $70.77 and a 52-week high of $598.84.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 12.09%. Ciena's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on CIEN. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ciena from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ciena from $280.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on shares of Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Ciena from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $381.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total value of $9,021,337.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 68 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,866.40. The trade was a 99.69% decrease in their position. The sale 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, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.79, for a total transaction of $566,148.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 45,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,297,072.39. This 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,974 shares of company stock worth $17,418,863. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Ciena 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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