Hantz Financial Services Inc. Boosts Stake in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Hantz Financial Services nearly doubled its Ciena stake in the fourth quarter, increasing holdings by 94.9% to 6,162 shares worth about $1.44 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Ciena remains mostly positive, with several analysts recently raising price targets; the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $404.94.
• Ciena reported strong quarterly results, including $1.35 EPS and $1.43 billion in revenue, both above estimates, with revenue up 33.1% year over year.

Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 94.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,162 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 3,001 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Ciena were worth $1,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Ciena by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 31,161 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $7,288,000 after buying an additional 3,156 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ciena during the third quarter worth $1,726,000. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ciena by 164.0% during the fourth quarter. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. now owns 660,988 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $154,585,000 after buying an additional 410,588 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ciena by 222.7% during the fourth quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,596 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $2,712,000 after buying an additional 8,003 shares during the period. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in Ciena by 1,095.8% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 27,527 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $6,438,000 after buying an additional 25,225 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Ciena from $430.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $404.94.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of CIEN opened at $580.90 on Thursday. Ciena Corporation has a 12 month low of $70.77 and a 12 month high of $605.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $492.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $337.45. 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 firm has a market cap of $82.14 billion, a PE ratio of 370.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total value of $2,025,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 46,341 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,105. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total value of $1,226,585.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 281,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $116,909,971.15. This trade represents a 1.04% 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 44,174 shares of company stock worth $18,878,661 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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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