Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Invests $9.54 Million in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management opened a new position in Ciena during the fourth quarter, buying 40,655 shares valued at about $9.54 million.
• Ciena reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.35 beating estimates and revenue of $1.43 billion topping forecasts; revenue also jumped 33.1% year over year.
• Analysts have turned more positive on the stock, with several firms raising price targets and Ciena now carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average target price of $398.83.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 40,655 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,537,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,747,810,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Ciena by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,462,840 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $941,451,000 after buying an additional 1,219,787 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Ciena by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,495,795 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $284,313,000 after buying an additional 329,821 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $292,310,000. Finally, Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Ciena by 48.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,983,000 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $288,864,000 after buying an additional 648,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Stock Up 5.9%

NYSE:CIEN opened at $587.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 374.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.24. Ciena Corporation has a twelve month low of $70.77 and a twelve month high of $598.84. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $473.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $326.32. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ciena news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 68 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,866.40. The trade was a 99.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total value of $1,226,585.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 281,365 shares in the company, valued at $116,909,971.15. This trade represents a 1.04% 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 44,174 shares of company stock valued at $18,878,661 in the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on Ciena in a research report on Friday, May 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $416.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Ciena from $430.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. One 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $398.83.

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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