Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC Takes $477,000 Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC opened a new position in Ciena, buying 2,042 shares worth about $477,000 in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with 91.99% of Ciena’s stock held by institutional investors, even as several funds recently added or adjusted positions.
• Insiders have been selling shares: SVP Brodie Gage and Jason Phipps both sold stock recently, and insiders sold 44,174 shares worth about $18.9 million over the past three months.

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,042 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $477,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 104.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 46,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,105. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total value of $9,021,337.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 68 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,866.40. The trade was a 99.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 44,174 shares of company stock worth $18,878,661. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore set a $330.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, February 19th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ciena has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $406.61.

Ciena Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $580.59 on Friday. Ciena Corporation has a 12 month low of $70.77 and a 12 month high of $605.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $500.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $341.74. The firm has a market cap of $82.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 369.80, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal 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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