Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Purchases New Shares in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd opened a new position in Ciena during the first quarter, buying 17,369 shares valued at about $6.34 million.
• Ciena reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.64 topping estimates and revenue of $1.57 billion, up 39.5% from a year earlier.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of about $530.56, while insiders have recently sold shares.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 17,369 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,340,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ciena during the first quarter worth $395,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Ciena by 139.6% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,253 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 3,061 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Ciena by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 222,054 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $13,419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,117 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Ciena by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,762 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 2nd quarter valued at $234,000. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of CIEN stock opened at $378.31 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $491.11 and its 200 day moving average is $405.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.10 and a beta of 1.27. Ciena Corporation has a 12 month low of $83.20 and a 12 month high of $637.51. 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 released 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. Ciena had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. Ciena's revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.05, for a total transaction of $1,659,171.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 272,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $153,163,683.45. The trade was a 1.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 value of $1,225,639.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 62,382 shares in the company, valued at $29,082,488.40. This trade represents a 4.04% 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. Insiders sold 21,627 shares of company stock valued at $10,974,985 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $615.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of Ciena in a research report on Friday, May 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $416.00 price objective on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Ciena from $350.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their target price on shares of Ciena from $283.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $530.56.

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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