Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $9.39 Million Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its holdings in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 40,162 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Ciena were worth $9,393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,537,000. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,316,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,747,810,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,163,000. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $249,000. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ciena Stock Up 5.9%

Shares of CIEN stock opened at $587.69 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $473.40 and a 200-day moving average of $326.32. 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 12-month low of $70.77 and a 12-month high of $598.84. The company has a market capitalization of $83.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 374.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 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, topping 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.05, for a total transaction of $1,659,171.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 272,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $153,163,683.45. This represents a 1.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total transaction of $9,021,337.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 68 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,866.40. This represents a 99.69% 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 44,174 shares of company stock valued at $18,878,661 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ciena from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Ciena from $355.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ciena has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $398.83.

Ciena Profile

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.