PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab Purchases 4,490 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• PensionDanmark increased its Ciena stake by 19.6% in the second quarter, purchasing 4,490 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 27,410 shares valued at approximately $13.45 million.
• Ciena reported quarterly revenue of $1.57 billion and earnings of $1.64 per share, exceeding analyst expectations; revenue rose 39.5% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $530.56, while company insiders sold $10.5 million worth of shares over the past 90 days.

PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab boosted its position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,410 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,490 shares during the period. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab's holdings in Ciena were worth $13,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CIEN. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC increased its position in shares of Ciena by 1.8% during the first quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC now owns 1,142 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Ciena by 1.8% in the first quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Ciena by 9.5% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 358 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ciena by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,107 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,194,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ciena by 71.0% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In other Ciena news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.81, for a total transaction of $1,121,199.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 248,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,565,853.42. This trade represents a 1.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,629 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total transaction of $1,225,639.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 62,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,082,488.40. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 21,627 shares of company stock worth $10,508,776 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ciena Stock Performance

Ciena stock opened at $412.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $58.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 137.61 and a beta of 1.30. The stock's 50 day moving average is $439.69 and its 200 day moving average is $419.26. Ciena Corporation has a twelve month low of $84.41 and a twelve month high of $637.51.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.18. Ciena had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 7.87%.The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CIEN. Citigroup increased their target price on Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered Ciena from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America upped their price target on Ciena from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on Ciena in a research report on Friday, May 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $416.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ciena presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $530.56.

Ciena Company Profile

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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