Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Acquired by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC has increased its stake in Ciena Corporation by 0.4%, currently holding 813,979 shares valued at $66.24 million.
• Several analysts have recently upgraded their ratings and price targets for Ciena, with Stifel Nicolaus raising the target from $90 to $100 and Needham & Company increasing it to $130.
• Ciena's CEO, Gary B. Smith, sold 6,800 shares of the company's stock, which represents a 2.23% decrease in his ownership, following a recent trend of insiders selling shares.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 0.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 813,979 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,968 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.58% of Ciena worth $66,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CIEN. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Ciena during the first quarter valued at $70,065,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Ciena during the first quarter valued at approximately $49,221,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the first quarter worth $12,973,000. Analog Century Management LP increased its stake in Ciena by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Analog Century Management LP now owns 841,311 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $50,840,000 after buying an additional 208,509 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Ciena by 8,381.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 178,873 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $10,809,000 after purchasing an additional 176,764 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CIEN shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $102.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Ciena from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Ciena from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Ciena from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $115.75.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of Ciena stock traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $139.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 668,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,362,584. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $99.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.06. Ciena Corporation has a one year low of $49.21 and a one year high of $139.74. The stock has a market cap of $19.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 143.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.28 and a quick ratio of 2.52.

About Ciena

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.