West Michigan Advisors LLC Invests $729,000 in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• West Michigan Advisors LLC opened a new position of 3,116 shares in Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) during Q4, valued at approximately $729,000.
• Company insiders — including SVP Brodie Gage and CEO Gary B. Smith — have sold shares under Rule 10b5‑1 plans, with insiders offloading a total of 42,974 shares worth about $16.6 million in the past three months.
• Ciena recently beat quarterly estimates (EPS $1.35 vs. $1.17; revenue $1.43B vs. $1.40B, +33.1% YoY), and analysts hold a consensus “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $355.59 while the stock trades near $499.

West Michigan Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,116 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $729,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CIEN. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in Ciena during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Ciena during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Ciena by 50.4% during 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 period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Ciena by 104.0% during the third quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Ciena during the third quarter worth about $31,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.79, for a total transaction of $566,148.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 45,141 shares in the company, valued at $21,297,072.39. This trade represents a 2.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total transaction of $1,226,585.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 281,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $116,909,971.15. This represents a 1.04% 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 sold a total of 42,974 shares of company stock worth $16,615,505 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CIEN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. Evercore set a $330.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Ciena from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $355.59.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of CIEN opened at $499.00 on Thursday. Ciena Corporation has a 1-year low of $62.31 and a 1-year high of $522.50. The stock has a market cap of $70.56 billion, a PE ratio of 317.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $390.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $275.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.14.

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

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.

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