Navellier & Associates Inc. Invests $3.57 Million in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Navellier & Associates opened a new position in Ciena, buying 15,282 shares worth about $3.57 million in Q4, and several large institutions (JPMorgan, BofA, Lone Pine, Jericho, Capital World) have also increased stakes—institutional ownership is roughly 91.99%.
• Significant insider selling occurred recently: insiders sold 42,974 shares totaling about $17.42 million over the last quarter, including SVP Jason Phipps's sale of 22,014 shares for ~$9.02 million; insiders now own ~0.58%.
• Strong quarterly results—Ciena reported revenue up 33.1% year-over-year and EPS of $1.35 beating estimates; the stock trades near its 52-week high with a market cap of about $77 billion and carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating (average price target $367.56, JPMorgan PT raised to $550).

Navellier & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 15,282 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,574,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Ciena by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,462,840 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $941,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,787 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Ciena by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,495,795 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $284,313,000 after purchasing an additional 329,821 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth $292,310,000. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Ciena by 48.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,983,000 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $288,864,000 after buying an additional 648,000 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake in Ciena by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,836,981 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $267,593,000 after buying an additional 130,507 shares during the period. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total transaction of $9,021,337.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 68 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,866.40. This trade represents a 99.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 1,200 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.79, for a total value of $566,148.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 45,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,297,072.39. The trade was a 2.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,974 shares of company stock valued at $17,418,863. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ciena Price Performance

NYSE:CIEN opened at $544.69 on Wednesday. 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 $418.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $293.85. The company has a market cap of $77.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 346.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.24. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $70.67 and a 52-week high of $562.00.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.Ciena's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on CIEN shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on Ciena in a research note on Friday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $416.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research raised Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings raised Ciena from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ciena has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $367.56.

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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