SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 410.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,052 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,650 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ciena were worth $480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CIEN. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ciena in the first quarter valued at approximately $395,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Ciena by 139.6% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,253 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 3,061 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ciena by 1.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 222,054 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,419,000 after buying an additional 3,117 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Ciena by 14.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,762 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 733 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Ciena in the second quarter valued at approximately $234,000. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.74, for a total transaction of $1,587,408.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $148,126,398.14. This trade represents a 1.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.79, for a total transaction of $566,148.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 45,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,297,072.39. The trade was a 2.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 42,974 shares of company stock valued at $17,418,863 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ciena Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $546.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $70.77 and a 52-week high of $583.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $427.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $299.27. The company has a market capitalization of $77.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 348.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.24.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.18. Ciena had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. Ciena’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CIEN has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, May 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $416.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Ciena from $355.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ciena from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold 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 $367.56.

About Ciena

Ciena Corporation (NYSE: CIEN) is a global supplier of telecommunications networking equipment, software and services. The company develops high-capacity optical transport systems and packet-optical platforms that enable service providers, cloud operators and large enterprises to build, manage and scale their networks. Ciena’s product portfolio includes coherent optical solutions, packet networking platforms and a suite of network automation software designed to optimize bandwidth, reduce latency and simplify network operations.

In addition to hardware offerings, Ciena provides professional services and support, including network design, implementation and ongoing maintenance.