Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Buys 48,995 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 333.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,685 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,995 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Ciena were worth $14,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in Ciena during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Ciena during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Ciena by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new stake in Ciena in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total transaction of $2,025,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 46,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,105. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.53, for a total transaction of $1,061,332.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 293,084 shares in the company, valued at $105,372,490.52. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 42,974 shares of company stock worth $16,615,505 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ciena Stock Up 11.2%

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $528.52 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 336.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $414.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.45. Ciena Corporation has a 52-week low of $69.06 and a 52-week high of $529.89.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Ciena from $320.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $355.59.

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.