State of Wyoming Purchases Shares of 2,199 Ciena Corporation $CIEN

State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,199 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ciena in the third quarter worth $1,726,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ciena by 87.2% in the 3rd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 2,255 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth about $352,000. Everhart Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Ciena by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 41,832 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,094,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In other Ciena news, Director Thomas Michael Nevens sold 8,554 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.66, for a total value of $1,921,741.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,116,746.52. The trade was a 47.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Patrick Gallagher sold 11,618 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.45, for a total transaction of $2,642,514.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,414,350.80. The trade was a 18.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 164,042 shares of company stock valued at $37,766,026 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane set a $185.00 target price on Ciena and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 21st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $241.67.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $271.88 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $234.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The company has a market capitalization of $38.29 billion, a PE ratio of 319.86, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.13. Ciena Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.21 and a 1-year high of $285.97.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 8.38%. Ciena’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.