Woodline Partners LP Invests $49.22 Million in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP has made a new investment of approximately $49.22 million in Ciena Corporation, acquiring 814,514 shares during the 1st quarter.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Ciena with target price upgrades; Needham & Company raised their price target from $90.00 to $130.00, issuing a "buy" rating.
• Company insiders sold shares recently, with SVP Jason Phipps and SVP Joseph Cumello both reducing their holdings, indicating potential mixed signals regarding stock confidence.

Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 814,514 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $49,221,000. Woodline Partners LP owned about 0.57% of Ciena at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CIEN. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 157.9% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 111,536 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $9,459,000 after acquiring an additional 68,285 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,139 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 7,440 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 60.3% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 12,745 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 4,794 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,804 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,680,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 171.1% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,667 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Ciena from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ciena from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Rosenblatt Securities increased 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. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Ciena from $95.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.32.

Ciena Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of CIEN traded down $1.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $131.15. 2,778,000 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,736,332. The company has a current ratio of 3.28, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.87. Ciena Corporation has a 52 week low of $49.21 and a 52 week high of $134.31. The company has a market cap of $18.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 135.20, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.16.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.94, for a total transaction of $31,829.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,934,791.92. This trade represents a 0.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,325 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.50, for a total transaction of $187,162.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,833 shares in the company, valued at $6,829,056.50. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,769 shares of company stock valued at $3,326,705 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Ciena Company 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.