Granahan Investment Management LLC Buys 24,325 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Granahan Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Ciena Corporation by 51.3%, owning 71,783 shares valued at $4.34 million after purchasing 24,325 shares in the first quarter.
• Ciena's quarterly earnings revealed an EPS of $0.42, which fell short of the consensus estimate of $0.50, despite a 23.6% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Insider selling was reported, with CEO Gary B. Smith selling 6,800 shares valued at approximately $631,924, indicating a 2.18% decrease in their ownership.

Granahan Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 51.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,783 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 24,325 shares during the quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Ciena worth $4,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CIEN. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Ciena by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 534 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its holdings in Ciena by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 636 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Ciena by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 640 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ciena during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 9,162.5% during the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 741 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.50, for a total value of $187,162.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 84,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,829,056.50. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.94, for a total transaction of $31,829.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,268 shares in the company, valued at $3,934,791.92. This trade represents a 0.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,769 shares of company stock worth $3,326,705. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CIEN has been the topic of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Ciena from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ciena from $95.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ciena from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ciena from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, B. Riley restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $113.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.32.

Ciena Stock Up 2.6%

NYSE:CIEN traded up $3.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $122.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,073,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,341,197. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.28 and a quick ratio of 2.52. Ciena Corporation has a one year low of $49.21 and a one year high of $122.27. The business's 50-day moving average is $90.11 and its 200-day moving average is $77.47. The company has a market cap of $17.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 125.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.16.

Ciena Company Profile

Ciena Corporation provides hardware and software services for delivery of video, data, and voice traffic metro, aggregation, and access communications network worldwide. The company's Networking Platforms segment offers convergence of coherent optical transport, open optical networking, optical transport network switching, IP routing, and switching services.