National Pension Service Takes Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• National Pension Service disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Ciena, buying 212,421 shares valued at about $49.7 million and representing roughly 0.15% of the company.
• Ciena has drawn heavy institutional interest overall, with institutions owning 91.99% of the stock and several large investors recently adding or initiating positions.
• The company beat earnings expectations in its latest report, posting $1.35 EPS on $1.43 billion in revenue, while analysts remain generally positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $406.61.

National Pension Service purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 212,421 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $49,679,000. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.15% of Ciena at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CIEN. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the fourth quarter valued at $2,747,810,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the third quarter valued at $292,310,000. Atreides Management LP bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the second quarter valued at $102,705,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 23.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,462,840 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $941,451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 2,174.2% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,143,855 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $166,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,557 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ciena news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total value of $1,226,585.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 281,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $116,909,971.15. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total value of $2,025,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 46,341 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,105. The trade was a 9.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,222 shares of company stock valued at $17,831,763. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Ciena Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $580.59 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 369.80 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.81. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $500.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $342.67. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $70.77 and a 52-week high of $605.61.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on Ciena from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays raised their price target on Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $615.00 price objective on Ciena in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $406.61.

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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