Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Purchases Shares of 2,936 Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,936 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $428,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ciena in the first quarter worth approximately $395,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Ciena by 139.6% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,253 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 3,061 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 222,054 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,117 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,762 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Ciena in the 2nd quarter worth $233,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CIEN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ciena from $120.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.13.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In related news, Director Patrick Gallagher sold 11,618 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.45, for a total value of $2,642,514.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,414,350.80. This represents a 18.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 11,929 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.82, for a total value of $2,741,522.78. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 49,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,370,344.50. The trade was a 19.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 160,083 shares of company stock worth $37,204,740. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of CIEN stock opened at $348.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.73. Ciena Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.21 and a fifty-two week high of $365.90. The firm has a market cap of $49.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 410.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $266.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $197.02.

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

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.