Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Buys 165,515 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 185.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 254,738 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 165,515 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Ciena were worth $37,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Ciena by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Ciena by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 1.3% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,475 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $943,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 2.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,071 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $593,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ciena by 42.5% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 312 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Price Performance

CIEN opened at $337.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.69 billion, a PE ratio of 214.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.14. The business’s 50-day moving average is $282.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.88. Ciena Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.21 and a 1 year high of $365.90.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 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 business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In other Ciena news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.64, for a total value of $1,046,897.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 296,036 shares in the company, valued at $104,986,207.04. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Michael Nevens sold 8,554 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.66, for a total transaction of $1,921,741.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,422 shares in the company, valued at $2,116,746.52. This represents a 47.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 156,235 shares of company stock valued at $36,941,890 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price target for the company. Bank of America raised shares of Ciena from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $355.00 in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.65.

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.