Swedbank AB Acquires Shares of 100,654 Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Swedbank AB initiated a new position in Ciena, buying 100,654 shares valued at about $23.5 million in the fourth quarter, while institutional ownership overall remains very high at 91.99%.
• Ciena reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.35 versus the $1.17 estimate and revenue of $1.43 billion that topped expectations; revenue also rose 33.1% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with multiple firms raising price targets and the stock holding a Moderate Buy consensus rating and average target of $367.56, even as CEO Gary B. Smith and another insider recently sold shares.

Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 100,654 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $23,540,000. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.07% of Ciena at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CIEN. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ciena during the first quarter valued at approximately $395,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Ciena by 139.6% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,253 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 3,061 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ciena by 1.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 222,054 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $13,419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,117 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 14.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,762 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $234,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ciena Stock Performance

CIEN stock opened at $546.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $427.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $299.27. Ciena Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $70.77 and a fifty-two week high of $583.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.29 billion, a PE ratio of 348.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.24.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Ciena had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. Ciena's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.53, for a total value of $1,061,332.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 293,084 shares in the company, valued at $105,372,490.52. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total transaction of $2,025,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 46,341 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,768,105. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 42,974 shares of company stock worth $17,418,863 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CIEN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on Ciena from $355.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Ciena from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ciena from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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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