Impax Asset Management Group plc Boosts Stock Holdings in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN)

Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 15.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 149,914 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,500 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned 0.11% of Ciena worth $9,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ciena by 108.6% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Ciena by 73.7% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 356 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Ciena by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,459 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $887,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Ciena by 1.1% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 16,649 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Ciena by 77.2% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 420 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ciena Price Performance

Ciena stock opened at $81.38 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $77.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a PE ratio of 113.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 3.40, a quick ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ciena Corporation has a 12-month low of $44.89 and a 12-month high of $101.44.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.08). Ciena had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 5.08%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CIEN. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price objective (up previously from $89.00) on shares of Ciena in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ciena from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Ciena from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.31.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.35, for a total transaction of $546,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 332,357 shares in the company, valued at $26,704,884.95. This trade represents a 2.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP David M. Rothenstein sold 2,500 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.93, for a total transaction of $199,825.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 202,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,175,434.10. The trade was a 1.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,919 shares of company stock worth $3,115,199 over the last ninety days. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Ciena

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.

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