Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Acquires New Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ opened a new position in Ciena during the first quarter, buying 3,513 shares worth about $1.36 million.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Ciena, with several firms recently raising price targets; the stock now has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average target of about $530.56.
• Ciena posted strong quarterly results, reporting $1.64 EPS and $1.57 billion in revenue, both above expectations, with revenue up 39.5% year over year.

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired 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 & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,513 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,364,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CIEN. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ciena by 71.0% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Ciena by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 154 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CIEN. B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on Ciena from $283.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays raised their target price on Ciena from $372.00 to $607.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $285.00 to $508.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Argus set a $650.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ciena currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $530.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Marc D. Graff sold 126 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.36, for a total transaction of $56,619.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 127,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $57,105,118.16. This trade represents a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.05, for a total transaction of $1,659,171.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 272,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $153,163,683.45. This represents a 1.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold 17,120 shares of company stock worth $8,872,766. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CIEN opened at $422.47 on Friday. Ciena Corporation has a 12-month low of $76.89 and a 12-month high of $637.51. The company has a market cap of $59.80 billion, a PE ratio of 140.82 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $513.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $389.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 7.87%.The firm's revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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.

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.