Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 134,760 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management sharply increased its Ciena stake in Q4, adding 134,760 shares and bringing its total holding to 135,124 shares valued at about $33.25 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is mostly positive, with 13 Buy ratings, 1 Strong Buy, and 6 Hold ratings; the consensus price target stands at $367.56.
• Ciena reported strong quarterly results, posting $1.35 EPS versus $1.17 expected and revenue of $1.43 billion, up 33.1% year over year.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 37,022.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 135,124 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 134,760 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.10% of Ciena worth $33,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in Ciena in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Ciena by 50.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Ciena by 104.0% in the third quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CIEN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Ciena from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ciena from $280.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, May 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $416.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $367.56.

Ciena Stock Performance

NYSE CIEN opened at $546.61 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $427.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $299.27. The stock has a market cap of $77.29 billion, a PE ratio of 348.16, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.24. Ciena Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $70.77 and a fifty-two week high of $583.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.81.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In other news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total transaction of $2,025,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 46,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,105. The trade was a 9.74% 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. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.53, for a total transaction of $1,061,332.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 293,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,372,490.52. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,974 shares of company stock worth $17,418,863. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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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