Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $70.94 Million Stock Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 303,318 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 10,647 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.22% of Ciena worth $70,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CIEN. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ciena by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Ciena by 104.0% in the third quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ciena from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Ciena from $355.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Ciena from $430.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ciena currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $367.56.

Ciena Stock Down 7.0%

Shares of CIEN opened at $536.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.81. Ciena Corporation has a 52 week low of $70.77 and a 52 week high of $583.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 341.62, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $427.16 and a 200-day moving average of $299.27.

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

Insider Activity at Ciena

In other Ciena news, 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 approximately $27,866.40. This represents a 99.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.53, for a total transaction of $1,061,332.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 293,084 shares of the company's stock, valued at $105,372,490.52. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 42,974 shares of company stock worth $17,418,863 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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