Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Purchases 2,954 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Swiss Life Asset Management raised its stake in Ciena by 80.2%, buying 2,954 shares to hold 6,635 shares worth about $967,000 at the end of the quarter.
• Several analysts have upgraded Ciena and raised targets (Needham $370, Wolfe $375, BofA $355), leaving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $327.12.
• Ciena reported a strong quarter—EPS $1.35 vs. $1.17 expected and revenue up 33.1% YoY—however, insiders have been net sellers (CEO sold 2,952 shares; 143,283 insider shares sold in the last 90 days).

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 80.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,635 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,954 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Ciena were worth $967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CIEN. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings 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. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ciena by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Ciena by 1.7% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,772 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $695,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ciena by 1.3% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,475 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $943,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 2.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,071 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CIEN. Zacks Research upgraded Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Northland Securities set a $190.00 target price on shares of Ciena and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Ciena from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $355.00 in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $327.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 293,084 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $105,372,490.52. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 11,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.82, for a total transaction of $2,741,522.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 49,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,370,344.50. This represents a 19.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,283 shares of company stock worth $34,372,491. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ciena Trading Up 6.5%

Shares of NYSE CIEN opened at $408.78 on Tuesday. Ciena Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.21 and a 1-year high of $419.80. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $302.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $227.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 260.37, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.07.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

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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