Panagora Asset Management Inc. Buys 88,385 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 1,581.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,975 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 88,385 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ciena were worth $21,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CIEN. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ciena by 71.0% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in Ciena in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Ciena by 50.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of CIEN stock opened at $462.19 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $521.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $366.77. The company has a market cap of $65.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 154.06 and a beta of 1.24. Ciena Corporation has a 12 month low of $72.56 and a 12 month high of $637.51.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.18. Ciena had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.65, for a total transaction of $684,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,074,931.65. This represents a 2.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $565.92, for a total transaction of $1,670,595.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 269,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $152,547,697.44. This represents a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 41,222 shares of company stock valued at $18,441,027 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CIEN shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Ciena from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Northland Securities set a $450.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, June 5th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $530.56.

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.