Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Grows Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management increased its Ciena stake by 467.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 25,107 shares valued at about $5.87 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains upbeat, with several analysts lifting price targets; the stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target of $398.83.
• Ciena reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while insider selling included notable transactions by SVP Jason Phipps and CEO Gary B. Smith under 10b5-1 plans.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 467.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,107 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 20,682 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Ciena were worth $5,872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CIEN shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Ciena from $430.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. B. Riley Financial raised their target price on Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on Ciena from $355.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore set a $330.00 target price on Ciena in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $398.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.05, for a total transaction of $1,659,171.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 272,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $153,163,683.45. This trade represents a 1.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 44,174 shares of company stock worth $18,878,661. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ciena Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE CIEN opened at $583.65 on Friday. Ciena Corporation has a 52 week low of $70.77 and a 52 week high of $599.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $478.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $328.12. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $82.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 371.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 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 business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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