Teza Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN)

Teza Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 242.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,133 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 24,880 shares during the period. Teza Capital Management LLC's holdings in Ciena were worth $2,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Ciena by 122.5% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 58,447 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $4,957,000 after acquiring an additional 32,176 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter valued at about $245,000. Boston Common Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter valued at about $256,000. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter valued at about $421,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ciena by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,071 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,491 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CIEN shares. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $89.00 price objective (down from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays set a $100.00 price objective on Ciena and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Ciena from $88.00 to $76.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Northland Capmk upgraded Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.62.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of Ciena stock traded down $1.17 on Wednesday, hitting $79.88. 1,248,673 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,029,365. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 140.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $66.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.87. Ciena Co. has a 1-year low of $44.69 and a 1-year high of $101.44. The company has a quick ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.54, for a total transaction of $404,872.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 375,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,367,987.20. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.67, for a total transaction of $27,534.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 46,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,637,150.11. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,588 shares of company stock worth $3,950,907 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Ciena Company Profile

Ciena Corporation provides hardware and software services for delivery of video, data, and voice traffic metro, aggregation, and access communications network worldwide. The company's Networking Platforms segment offers convergence of coherent optical transport, open optical networking, optical transport network switching, IP routing, and switching services.