Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Purchased by Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV

Key Points

• Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV has increased its stake in Ciena Corporation by 12.3%, acquiring an additional 4,186 shares, bringing their total holdings to 38,181 shares worth approximately $2.3 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Ion Asset Management and Granahan Investment Management, have also boosted their stakes in Ciena, highlighting significant interest in the company as 91.99% of the stock is now held by institutional investors.
• Equities analysts have recently raised their target prices for Ciena, with Needham & Company increasing it from $90.00 to $130.00, and overall, Ciena has been rated as a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $114.32.

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 12.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,181 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV's holdings in Ciena were worth $2,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CIEN. Ion Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 6.3% during the first quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,356,752 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $81,989,000 after buying an additional 80,426 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ciena during the first quarter worth about $395,000. Granahan Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 51.3% during the first quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 71,783 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $4,338,000 after buying an additional 24,325 shares during the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 50.8% during the first quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 28,079 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,699,000 after buying an additional 9,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cinctive Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Ciena during the first quarter worth about $1,709,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In other news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 2,044 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.64, for a total transaction of $166,872.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 47,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,853,244.72. This trade represents a 4.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,325 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.50, for a total transaction of $187,162.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 84,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,829,056.50. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,769 shares of company stock valued at $3,326,705 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of CIEN stock traded down $1.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $131.15. 2,778,000 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,736,332. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $93.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.87. Ciena Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.21 and a 1-year high of $134.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.28 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The firm has a market cap of $18.50 billion, a PE ratio of 135.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CIEN shares. Zacks Research raised Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Ciena from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Ciena from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ciena from $102.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Ciena to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.32.

Ciena Profile

Ciena Corporation provides hardware and software services for delivery of video, data, and voice traffic metro, aggregation, and access communications network worldwide. The company's Networking Platforms segment offers convergence of coherent optical transport, open optical networking, optical transport network switching, IP routing, and switching services.