Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Purchases Shares of 32,363 Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments initiated a new stake in Ciena by purchasing 32,363 shares in Q4, valued at approximately $7.57 million.
• Significant insider selling has occurred recently: SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares and CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares, with insiders offloading a total of 42,974 shares worth about $16.6 million over the past 90 days.
• Ciena beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $1.35 vs. $1.17 and revenue of $1.43 billion (up 33.1% YoY), though the stock trades at a high valuation (market cap ~$71.1B, P/E ~320) and carries a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with a $355.59 target.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 32,363 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,569,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Ciena by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 710 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Ciena by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Ciena by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Ciena by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,772 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ciena by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,475 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $943,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Trading Down 0.9%

CIEN stock opened at $503.04 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $382.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $56.94 and a 52-week high of $517.88. The firm has a market cap of $71.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 320.41, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.01.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.18. Ciena had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In other news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total transaction of $9,021,337.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 68 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,866.40. This represents a 99.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total transaction of $1,226,585.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 281,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,909,971.15. The trade was a 1.04% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 42,974 shares of company stock valued at $16,615,505 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CIEN shares. TD Cowen started coverage on Ciena in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $425.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ciena in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Ciena from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $355.59.

Ciena 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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