Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Has $84,000 Stock Holdings in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. significantly reduced its stake in Ciena Corporation by 91.3%, selling 14,645 shares and retaining only 1,389 shares valued at $84,000.
• Multiple institutional investors have adjusted their positions in Ciena, with noteworthy increases from Bessemer Group and MassMutual Private Wealth.
• Recent analyst reports have raised Ciena's price targets substantially, with Evercore ISI setting it at $120.00 and Bank of America at $135.00, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. decreased its position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 91.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,389 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 14,645 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Ciena were worth $84,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CIEN. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ciena by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 534 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its stake in Ciena by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 636 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Ciena by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 640 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in Ciena by 9,162.5% in the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 741 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of CIEN stock traded down $1.35 during trading on Friday, reaching $131.15. 2,778,000 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,736,332. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a PE ratio of 135.20, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.16. Ciena Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.21 and a twelve month high of $134.31. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $93.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.50, for a total transaction of $187,162.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.94, for a total value of $31,829.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,268 shares in the company, valued at $3,934,791.92. The trade was a 0.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,769 shares of company stock valued at $3,326,705 over the last 90 days. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CIEN has been the topic of several research reports. Northland Securities set a $100.00 target price on Ciena in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Ciena from $100.00 to $127.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Ciena from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on Ciena from $100.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.32.

Ciena Company 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.