Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Acquires 9,854 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Crossmark Global Holdings more than doubled its Ciena position in the third quarter, adding 9,854 shares to own 19,192 shares valued at approximately $6.75 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 91.99% of Ciena.
• Ciena reported a strong quarter, with earnings of $2.11 per share versus the $1.73 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.67 billion, up 37% year over year.
• Despite the earnings beat, Ciena shares opened at $322.68, well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $506.11, while insiders sold more than $13.4 million of stock during the quarter.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 105.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,192 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,854 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Ciena were worth $6,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ciena by 15.1% in the third quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC bought a new position in Ciena during the 3rd quarter worth $982,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Ciena by 4.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 12,986 shares during the period. Parkway Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in Ciena by 43.8% during the 3rd quarter. Parkway Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 10,717 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $3,770,000 after acquiring an additional 3,265 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Ciena by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 20,682 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $7,276,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of Ciena stock opened at $322.68 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $370.43 and a 200-day moving average of $438.46. Ciena Corporation has a 1-year low of $164.13 and a 1-year high of $637.51. The company has a current ratio of 3.80, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $45.76 billion, a PE ratio of 72.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other Ciena news, EVP Jason Phipps sold 2,629 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.19, for a total transaction of $933,794.51. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 57,388 shares in the company, valued at $20,383,643.72. This represents a 4.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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, Director Bruce L. Claflin sold 2,857 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.91, for a total value of $1,016,834.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,946,578.89. This represents a 25.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 36,014 shares of company stock valued at $13,457,571. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on CIEN. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ciena from $508.00 to $394.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings cut Ciena from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Ciena from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $506.11.

About Ciena

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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