Independent Financial Group LLC Invests $3.02 Million in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Independent Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Ciena during the first quarter, purchasing 7,777 shares valued at about $3.02 million.
• Ciena saw continued institutional interest, with hedge funds and other investors holding about 91.99% of the stock; however, recent insider filings also showed senior vice presidents Joseph Cumello and Jason Phipps selling shares under pre-arranged trading plans.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Ciena, with a Moderate Buy consensus and a target price of $530.56; the company also recently beat earnings and revenue estimates, reporting 39.5% year-over-year revenue growth.

Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,777 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,019,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CIEN. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ciena during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,747,810,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 30,114.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,870,677 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $671,365,000 after acquiring an additional 2,861,176 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Ciena by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,051,625 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $947,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,404,132 shares in the last quarter. Atreides Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $102,705,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Ciena by 2,174.2% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,143,855 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $166,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,557 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In related news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,586 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total value of $739,599.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 42,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,992,499.76. This trade represents a 3.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,629 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total transaction of $1,225,639.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 62,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,082,488.40. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,627 shares of company stock valued at $10,974,985. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on CIEN. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $285.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Ciena from $405.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Argus set a $650.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research report on Friday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $530.56.

Ciena Trading Down 3.9%

NYSE:CIEN opened at $373.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 124.57 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $495.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $403.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.11. Ciena Corporation has a 12-month low of $83.20 and a 12-month high of $637.51.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 7.87%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

About Ciena

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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