Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Invests $38.07 Million in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 448,900 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $38,071,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned 0.32% of Ciena at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CIEN. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ciena by 108.6% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Ciena by 925.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 328 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Ciena by 328.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 364 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Ciena by 73.7% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 356 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ciena by 77.2% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 420 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.54, for a total transaction of $404,872.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 375,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,367,987.20. This trade represents a 1.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.16, for a total value of $31,556.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,197 shares in the company, valued at $4,435,601.52. The trade was a 0.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,288 shares of company stock valued at $3,299,980. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CIEN. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on shares of Ciena from $73.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ciena from $88.00 to $76.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Ciena from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ciena has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.62.

Ciena Trading Down 2.2 %

CIEN traded down $1.46 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.90. 533,528 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,008,610. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $65.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.76. Ciena Co. has a 52 week low of $44.69 and a 52 week high of $101.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.72.

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.