Strategy Asset Managers LLC Acquires Shares of 16,295 Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN)

Strategy Asset Managers LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 16,295 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $1,299,004,000 after purchasing an additional 139,941 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,439,478 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $273,427,000 after purchasing an additional 53,078 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ciena by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,408,014 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $148,348,000 after buying an additional 33,074 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Ciena by 0.5% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Ciena during the 3rd quarter worth $57,861,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ciena Stock Performance

Ciena stock opened at $61.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a current ratio of 3.55. Ciena Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.30 and a fifty-two week high of $101.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.92. The company has a market capitalization of $8.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.90, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CIEN shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ciena from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on Ciena from $94.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Northland Securities upgraded Ciena from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ciena from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $84.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.38.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In other Ciena news, Director Bruce L. Claflin sold 16,912 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.96, for a total value of $1,436,843.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 59,347 shares in the company, valued at $5,042,121.12. The trade was a 22.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.18, for a total transaction of $443,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 391,749 shares in the company, valued at $25,534,199.82. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 66,560 shares of company stock valued at $5,406,323. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.