VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Buys New Shares in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 23,740 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,646,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 71.0% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Markowski Investments acquired a new stake in Ciena during the second quarter worth $28,000. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in Ciena by 2,100.0% during the first quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 88 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ciena by 57.8% during the second quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 71 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in Ciena by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 154 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Stock Performance

Ciena stock opened at $321.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $400.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $438.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.77 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 3.17, a current ratio of 3.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Ciena Corporation has a 12-month low of $113.66 and a 12-month high of $637.51.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.38. Ciena had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 25.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 37.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.10, for a total value of $559,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 42,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,921,580.10. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $362.90, for a total transaction of $1,071,280.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 243,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,213,006.20. This trade represents a 1.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 25,422 shares of company stock valued at $11,038,802 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CIEN shares. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $600.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Evercore set a $375.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on Ciena from $720.00 to $525.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $480.95.

Ciena Company 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.