Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking boosted its stake in Ciena by 333.5%, adding 48,995 shares to hold 63,685 shares worth about $14.9M, and institutional investors now own roughly 91.99% of the stock.
• Ciena reported a quarterly beat (EPS $1.35 vs. $1.17) with revenue of $1.43B (+33.1% Y/Y), and the stock jumped about 11.2% to roughly $528.52, valuing the company near $74.7B.
• Analysts are largely bullish—consensus rating "Moderate Buy" with a $355.59 target—but insiders sold about 42,974 shares (~$16.6M) in the last quarter.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 333.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,685 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 48,995 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's holdings in Ciena were worth $14,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Ciena by 175.1% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 56,423 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $13,196,000 after purchasing an additional 35,911 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ciena by 65.1% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 8,271 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,934,000 after buying an additional 3,261 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 5,078 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,188,000 after buying an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. Veracity Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 3,596 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $841,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ciena Stock Up 11.2%

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $528.52 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.73 billion, a PE ratio of 336.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. 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 Corporation has a 52-week low of $69.06 and a 52-week high of $529.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $414.44 and a 200 day moving average of $289.45.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ciena news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.79, for a total transaction of $566,148.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 45,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,297,072.39. This trade represents a 2.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 281,365 shares of the company's stock, 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 sold 42,974 shares of company stock worth $16,615,505 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CIEN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Ciena from $320.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $425.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore set a $330.00 price objective on Ciena in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $355.59.

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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