DNB Asset Management AS Invests $335,000 in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

DNB Asset Management AS purchased a new stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,302 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $335,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atreides Management LP bought a new position in Ciena during the second quarter worth $102,705,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Ciena by 23.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,462,840 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $941,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,787 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Ciena by 3,577.9% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,032,393 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $83,965,000 after buying an additional 1,004,323 shares during the last quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 546.9% during the 2nd quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP now owns 997,425 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $81,106,000 after buying an additional 843,235 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ciena by 124.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,927 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $99,298,000 after buying an additional 677,299 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In related news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 11,929 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.82, for a total transaction of $2,741,522.78. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 49,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,370,344.50. This trade represents a 19.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.64, for a total transaction of $1,046,897.28. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 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. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ciena Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of CIEN stock opened at $344.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $48.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 405.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.08. Ciena Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.21 and a 1 year high of $365.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $203.00.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CIEN. Northland Securities set a $190.00 price target on shares of Ciena and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ciena from $250.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Argus lifted their price target on Ciena from $135.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $260.80.

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.