Petrus Trust Company LTA Buys Shares of 4,244 Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Petrus Trust Company LTA invested approximately $256,000 in Ciena Corporation by purchasing 4,244 shares during the first quarter.
• Ciena's stock has seen significant activity, with several institutional investors increasing their positions, leading to a near-total ownership of 91.99% by hedge funds.
• Analyst ratings for Ciena are optimistic, with Wolfe Research rating it as a "strong buy" and price targets raised by multiple firms, indicating a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Petrus Trust Company LTA purchased a new stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,244 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the first quarter valued at approximately $219,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 851 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Ciena in the 1st quarter valued at $2,398,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Ciena by 28.6% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 48,879 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,954,000 after buying an additional 10,856 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Price Performance

NYSE CIEN traded down $1.35 on Friday, hitting $131.15. 2,778,000 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,356,314. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $92.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.50. The company has a market cap of $18.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 135.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 3.28, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ciena Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.21 and a 1-year high of $134.31.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 2,044 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.64, for a total transaction of $166,872.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 47,198 shares in the company, valued at $3,853,244.72. This represents a 4.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.94, for a total transaction of $31,829.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,934,791.92. This trade represents a 0.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,769 shares of company stock worth $3,326,705 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CIEN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research raised shares of Ciena to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Northland Securities set a $100.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Ciena from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.