Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) Stock Position Raised by XTX Topco Ltd

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in Ciena Corporation by 245.0% during the first quarter, now holding approximately 75,319 shares valued at $4.55 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly boosted their investments in Ciena, with Price T Rowe Associates Inc. increasing its stake by 195.9%, owning nearly 4.63 million shares.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Ciena's stock, with a target price averaging $85.54, despite recent earnings that fell short of expectations.

XTX Topco Ltd grew its position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 245.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 75,319 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 53,488 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd owned 0.05% of Ciena worth $4,552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CIEN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 195.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,626,153 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $392,345,000 after buying an additional 3,062,883 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc boosted its stake in Ciena by 113.7% in the 4th quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,169,406 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $183,987,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,260 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Ciena by 4,215.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 899,828 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $76,314,000 after purchasing an additional 878,979 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Ciena by 971.7% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 729,722 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $61,891,000 after purchasing an additional 661,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Ciena by 4,484.1% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 529,555 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $44,912,000 after purchasing an additional 518,003 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on CIEN shares. Evercore ISI reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $83.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price objective (up from $89.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Northland Securities set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and set a $70.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.54.

Ciena Stock Down 4.6%

NYSE CIEN traded down $4.29 on Friday, reaching $88.55. The company had a trading volume of 2,151,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,330,557. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion, a PE ratio of 122.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.11. Ciena Corporation has a 1 year low of $44.89 and a 1 year high of $101.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $80.58 and a 200-day moving average of $76.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.40 and a quick ratio of 2.57.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 5.08%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.57, for a total transaction of $28,899.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,601,538.26. This trade represents a 0.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 2,044 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.64, for a total value of $166,872.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 47,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,853,244.72. This represents a 4.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,469 shares of company stock valued at $2,817,891. 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.