OP Asset Management Ltd Invests $9.56 Million in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• OP Asset Management opened a new position in Ciena during the first quarter, buying 24,637 shares valued at about $9.56 million.
• Ciena reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.64 topping estimates and revenue of $1.57 billion, up 39.5% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $530.56, while several firms recently raised their targets significantly.

OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 24,637 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,565,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CIEN. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,747,810,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Ciena by 30,114.5% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,870,677 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $671,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,861,176 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $292,310,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Ciena by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,051,625 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $947,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404,132 shares during the period. Finally, Atreides Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Ciena in the second quarter worth approximately $102,705,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.10, for a total transaction of $559,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,921,580.10. The trade was a 2.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 68 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,866.40. This represents a 99.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 40,374 shares of company stock worth $18,324,470 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Ciena Trading Up 4.5%

Ciena stock opened at $484.29 on Friday. Ciena Corporation has a 12-month low of $76.89 and a 12-month high of $637.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 161.43 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $518.44 and a 200 day moving average of $380.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CIEN. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on shares of Ciena from $283.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $615.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Ciena from $350.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $450.00 price objective on Ciena in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $530.56.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.