UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• UBS AM reduced its holdings in Ciena Corporation by 12.7%, selling 73,997 shares, and now owns 508,787 shares valued at approximately $30.7 million.
• Institional investors hold a significant 91.99% of Ciena's stock, indicating strong investor confidence in the company.
• Ciena received multiple analyst upgrades, including a shift to a strong-buy rating from Zacks Research, along with increased price targets from various firms, suggesting rising market optimism.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lowered its stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 12.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 508,787 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 73,997 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Ciena worth $30,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CIEN. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,804 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,680,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 30,023 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,546,000 after purchasing an additional 9,916 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,756 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $573,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the period. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Ciena by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 11,329 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $961,000 after buying an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CIEN traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $138.48. 3,140,515 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,074,823. The company has a market capitalization of $19.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 142.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 3.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.21 and a 52-week high of $139.74. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $99.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CIEN. B. Riley reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $113.00 price target (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Ciena in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Ciena from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Ciena from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $100.00 to $127.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ciena currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $115.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $926,160.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 298,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,636,223.40. The trade was a 2.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.00, for a total value of $46,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 42,918 shares in the company, valued at $5,665,176. This trade represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,769 shares of company stock worth $3,769,163 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Ciena 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.