Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Makes New $1.39 Million Investment in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA opened a new position in Ciena during the first quarter, buying 3,570 shares worth about $1.39 million.
• Insider selling continued at Ciena, with CFO Marc D. Graff and CEO Gary B. Smith both selling shares under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans; insiders have sold 17,120 shares over the last 90 days.
• Ciena reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.64 and revenue of $1.57 billion, both above analyst estimates, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $530.56.

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA purchased a new position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,570 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,386,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC increased its position in Ciena by 1.8% during the first quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC now owns 1,142 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ciena by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,107 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ciena by 71.0% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,629 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 154 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, CFO Marc D. Graff sold 126 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.36, for a total value of $56,619.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 127,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at $57,105,118.16. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.02, for a total value of $1,349,123.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 266,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at $121,843,817.10. The trade was a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 17,120 shares of company stock worth $8,872,766 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus set a $650.00 price objective on Ciena in a research report on Friday, June 5th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Ciena from $350.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on Ciena from $283.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Ciena from $285.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $530.56.

Ciena Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Ciena stock opened at $422.47 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $76.89 and a 52-week high of $637.51. The company has a market capitalization of $59.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 140.82 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $513.83 and a 200 day moving average of $389.62.

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

Ciena Company 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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