Premier Fund Managers Ltd Makes New $4.90 Million Investment in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new position of 20,555 shares of Ciena in Q4, valued at approximately $4.90 million.
• Ciena recently beat quarterly estimates with $1.35 EPS vs. $1.17 and revenue up 33.1%, and major banks including Bank of America and JPMorgan have lifted price targets to $550, while MarketBeat's consensus remains a "Moderate Buy."
• Insiders have been selling: CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares and SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014, with total insider sales of $17.4 million last quarter; institutional investors own about 91.99% of the stock.

Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 20,555 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,902,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ciena by 92.2% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,604 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,778,000 after acquiring an additional 3,648 shares in the last quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,410 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $797,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,574,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at about $23,540,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 37,022.0% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 135,124 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $33,249,000 after purchasing an additional 134,760 shares during the period. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.53, for a total value of $1,061,332.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 293,084 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $105,372,490.52. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total value of $9,021,337.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 68 shares in the company, valued at $27,866.40. The trade was a 99.69% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,974 shares of company stock valued at $17,418,863. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ciena Price Performance

NYSE:CIEN opened at $576.78 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.81. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $423.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $296.70. The company has a market cap of $81.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 367.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.24. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $70.77 and a 52-week high of $583.78.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.Ciena's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on CIEN. Bank of America lifted their price target on Ciena from $355.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on Ciena in a research note on Friday, May 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $416.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $367.56.

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.

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