Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Increases Stock Holdings in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in Ciena by 111.7% in Q4, ending the quarter with 66,643 shares valued at about $15.625 million.
• Ciena beat expectations in its latest quarter with EPS of $1.35 (vs. $1.17 est.) and revenue of $1.43 billion (+33.1% YoY), and analysts rate the stock a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $355.59 target.
• Insiders have sold 42,974 shares worth ~$16.6 million in the past 90 days, even as institutional investors own 91.99% of the stock and corporate insiders hold just 0.58%.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 111.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,643 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 35,159 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's holdings in Ciena were worth $15,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CIEN. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Ciena by 50.4% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ciena Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $520.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 331.43, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.81. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $399.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $280.96. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $63.99 and a 52-week high of $527.86.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of Ciena 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 46,341 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,768,105. The trade was a 9.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total value of $9,021,337.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 68 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,866.40. The trade was a 99.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 42,974 shares of company stock valued at $16,615,505 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CIEN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $425.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $355.59.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.