Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Acquires New Holdings in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. opened a new position in Ciena during the fourth quarter, buying 14,537 shares valued at about $3.4 million.
• Institutional ownership in Ciena remains very heavy at 91.99%, with several other large investors also increasing stakes, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Geode Capital Management.
• Despite recent insider selling, Wall Street analysts remain broadly positive on Ciena, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $406.61; the company also beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates in its latest report.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 14,537 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,407,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ciena in the fourth quarter worth about $2,747,810,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Ciena by 23.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,462,840 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $941,451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,787 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Ciena by 10.4% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,495,795 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $284,313,000 after acquiring an additional 329,821 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ciena by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,687,437 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $627,567,000 after acquiring an additional 145,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ciena in the third quarter worth about $292,310,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related 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 owned 68 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,866.40. This trade represents a 99.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total transaction of $2,025,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 46,341 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,105. This represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 41,222 shares of company stock worth $17,831,763 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CIEN shares. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research raised Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on Ciena in a report on Friday, May 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $416.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Ciena from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $406.61.

Ciena Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of CIEN stock opened at $568.43 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $503.80 and a 200 day moving average of $345.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $80.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 362.06 and a beta of 1.24. Ciena Corporation has a twelve month low of $70.77 and a twelve month high of $605.61.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.Ciena's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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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