Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group Makes New $180,000 Investment in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group has taken a new position in Ciena Corporation, purchasing 2,214 shares valued at approximately $180,000 during the second quarter.
• Insiders, including SVP Jason Phipps and CEO Gary B. Smith, have recently sold substantial amounts of Ciena stock, indicating a total reduction in insider ownership by 39,769 shares worth over $3.7 million in the last ninety days.
• Several brokerages have upgraded Ciena's stock ratings, with price targets raised significantly, including Needham & Company increasing theirs from $90.00 to $130.00 and Bank of America from $135.00 to $155.00.

Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,214 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $180,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ciena by 516.6% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 18,719 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 15,683 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in Ciena by 322.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 34,035 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,912,000 after purchasing an additional 25,986 shares in the last quarter. Connective Portfolio Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 2nd quarter worth about $651,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ciena during the 1st quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of CIEN stock traded up $0.64 on Tuesday, hitting $139.95. 628,135 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,363,677. Ciena Corporation has a 52 week low of $49.21 and a 52 week high of $140.80. The firm has a market cap of $19.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.33, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.28 and a quick ratio of 2.52.

Insider Activity

In other Ciena news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,325 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 84,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,829,056.50. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.00, for a total transaction of $46,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,665,176. This represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,769 shares of company stock worth $3,769,163. Insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CIEN. B. Riley reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $113.00 price objective (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Argus upped their target price on Ciena from $100.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded Ciena to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Ciena from $120.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Northland Securities set a $100.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Monday, June 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $119.46.

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.