Danske Bank A S Purchases 35,000 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Danske Bank raised its stake in Ciena by 2,058.8%, adding 35,000 shares to hold 36,700 shares worth about $8.58 million at quarter-end, contributing to the fact that institutional investors own 91.99% of the stock.
• Company insiders sold a total of 42,974 shares worth $17.4 million last quarter (including CEO Gary B. Smith and SVP Brodie Gage), with those sales executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans; insiders now own 0.58% of Ciena.
• Analysts are broadly bullish—one Strong Buy, 13 Buys and six Holds with an average price target of $358.94—and JPMorgan recently raised its target to $550 as the stock trades near its 52-week high following a quarterly earnings and revenue beat.

Danske Bank A S raised its position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 2,058.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,700 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares during the quarter. Danske Bank A S's holdings in Ciena were worth $8,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,993,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Ciena by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 31,161 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $7,288,000 after acquiring an additional 3,156 shares in the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ciena during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,726,000. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. increased its holdings in Ciena by 164.0% during the 4th quarter. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. now owns 660,988 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $154,585,000 after acquiring an additional 410,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ciena by 222.7% during the 4th quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,596 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,712,000 after acquiring an additional 8,003 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.79, for a total value of $566,148.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 45,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,297,072.39. The trade was a 2.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.74, for a total value of $1,587,408.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $148,126,398.14. This represents a 1.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 42,974 shares of company stock valued at $17,418,863 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CIEN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $425.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research raised Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $358.94.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CIEN opened at $537.95 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $76.07 billion, a PE ratio of 342.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.24. Ciena Corporation has a 12 month low of $70.67 and a 12 month high of $550.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $414.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $291.20.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

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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