160,923 Shares in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) Bought by Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 160,923 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $13,648,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned 0.11% of Ciena at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ciena by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,316,640 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,299,004,000 after acquiring an additional 139,941 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,236,920 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $444,143,000 after purchasing an additional 17,447 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 195.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,626,153 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $392,345,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062,883 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ciena by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,419,947 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $205,301,000 after buying an additional 11,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Ciena by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 959,831 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $81,403,000 after buying an additional 4,315 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Stock Performance

Ciena stock traded up $1.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $73.18. 823,320 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,014,095. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $64.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.74. Ciena Co. has a twelve month low of $44.69 and a twelve month high of $101.44. The firm has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a PE ratio of 128.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a current ratio of 3.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.16, for a total transaction of $31,556.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,435,601.52. This represents a 0.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP David M. Rothenstein sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.88, for a total value of $172,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 207,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,283,645.60. This represents a 1.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,288 shares of company stock valued at $3,299,980 over the last three months. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Ciena from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $89.00 price target (down from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Northland Securities raised shares of Ciena from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Ciena from $88.00 to $76.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.62.

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.