Munro Partners Sells 252,500 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Munro Partners cut its Ciena stake by 45.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 252,500 shares and leaving it with 304,430 shares valued at about $71.2 million.
• Ciena reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.64 versus $1.46 expected and revenue of $1.57 billion, up 39.5% year over year.
• Wall Street remains bullish on Ciena, with several analysts raising price targets and the stock carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average target price of $530.56.

Munro Partners lessened its position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 45.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 304,430 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 252,500 shares during the period. Ciena comprises 1.8% of Munro Partners' holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Munro Partners owned approximately 0.22% of Ciena worth $71,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ciena by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,107 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ciena by 71.0% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Ciena by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,629 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in Ciena by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 154 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Ciena by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 710 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $462.19 on Tuesday. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $72.56 and a 52-week high of $637.51. The company has a market capitalization of $65.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 154.06 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $521.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $366.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.73.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Ciena's revenue was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $615.00 target price on Ciena in a report on Friday, May 29th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $530.56.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 68 shares in the company, valued at $27,866.40. This trade represents a 99.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $565.92, for a total transaction of $1,670,595.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 269,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $152,547,697.44. This trade represents a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,222 shares of company stock worth $18,441,027. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CIEN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report).

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.