Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Sequoia Financial Advisors increased its stake in Ciena by 92.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 7,604 shares worth about $1.78 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Ciena remains upbeat, with multiple analysts raising price targets; the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $367.56.
• Ciena reported strong quarterly results, beating expectations on both earnings per share and revenue, while revenue rose 33.1% year over year.

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 92.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,604 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 3,648 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Ciena were worth $1,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in Ciena during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Ciena by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Ciena by 104.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in Ciena in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CIEN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on Ciena from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $367.56.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $580.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $82.06 billion, a PE ratio of 369.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.24. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $435.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $304.80. Ciena Corporation has a one year low of $70.77 and a one year high of $593.00. 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 (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $27,866.40. This trade represents a 99.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total value of $2,025,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 46,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,105. This represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,974 shares of company stock worth $17,418,863. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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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