Spear Advisors LLC Takes $6.95 Million Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Spear Advisors LLC opened a new position in Ciena during the fourth quarter, buying 29,705 shares valued at about $6.95 million. The stake represents roughly 4.9% of its portfolio and is its 8th largest holding.
• Several other institutional investors also increased or initiated positions in Ciena, and 91.99% of the stock is held by hedge funds and other institutions. This suggests strong institutional interest in the company.
• Ciena posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.35 versus estimates of $1.17 and revenue of $1.43 billion topping forecasts. Analysts remain generally positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $381.44.

Spear Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 29,705 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,947,000. Ciena comprises about 4.9% of Spear Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 71.0% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 154 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total transaction of $9,021,337.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 68 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,866.40. This trade represents a 99.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 46,341 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,768,105. The trade was a 9.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 42,974 shares of company stock valued at $17,418,863 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CIEN has been the topic of several recent research reports. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $280.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Evercore set a $330.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ciena presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $381.44.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CIEN opened at $554.26 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $454.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $315.14. Ciena Corporation has a 1 year low of $70.77 and a 1 year high of $598.84. The company has a market capitalization of $78.37 billion, a PE ratio of 353.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. 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 announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Ciena 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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