Dilation Capital Management LP Increases Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Dilation Capital Management increased its Ciena stake by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, adding 4,580 shares to reach 24,203 shares worth about $5.66 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains bullish on Ciena, with several firms lifting price targets sharply; the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $398.83.
• Ciena reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $1.35 on revenue of $1.43 billion, while insiders have sold shares in recent months, including CEO Gary B. Smith and SVP Jason Phipps.

Dilation Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 23.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,203 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 4,580 shares during the quarter. Ciena comprises approximately 2.6% of Dilation Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Dilation Capital Management LP's holdings in Ciena were worth $5,660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 50.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 104.0% during the third quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the third quarter valued at $45,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CIEN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $398.83.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In related news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.05, for a total value of $1,659,171.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 272,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $153,163,683.45. This represents a 1.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total value of $9,021,337.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 68 shares in the company, valued at $27,866.40. This represents a 99.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 44,174 shares of company stock valued at $18,878,661 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ciena Price Performance

NYSE:CIEN opened at $583.65 on Monday. 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 moving average price of $478.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $329.09. Ciena Corporation has a 1-year low of $70.77 and a 1-year high of $599.50. The firm has a market cap of $82.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 371.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Ciena Company 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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