iA Global Asset Management Inc. Takes $7.16 Million Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management initiated a new position in Ciena, buying 30,630 shares valued at about $7.16 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional interest in Ciena remains strong, with hedge funds and asset managers holding 91.99% of the stock; several firms, including JPMorgan and Arrowstreet, significantly increased their stakes.
• Ciena posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.35 versus $1.17 expected and revenue of $1.43 billion, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $381.44.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 30,630 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,163,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CIEN. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $292,310,000. Atreides Management LP acquired a new position in Ciena in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $102,705,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Ciena by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,462,840 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $941,451,000 after buying an additional 1,219,787 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Ciena by 2,174.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,143,855 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $166,625,000 after buying an additional 1,093,557 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Ciena by 3,577.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,032,393 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $83,965,000 after buying an additional 1,004,323 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $537.74, for a total transaction of $1,587,408.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 275,461 shares in the company, valued at $148,126,398.14. This trade represents a 1.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.79, for a total value of $566,148.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 45,141 shares in the company, valued at $21,297,072.39. This trade represents a 2.59% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,974 shares of company stock worth $17,418,863. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CIEN shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Ciena from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ciena has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $381.44.

Ciena Trading Down 0.0%

Ciena stock opened at $554.26 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ciena Corporation has a 12 month low of $70.77 and a 12 month high of $598.84. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $454.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $316.08. The firm has a market cap of $78.37 billion, a PE ratio of 353.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.24.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.18. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CIEN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.