Regal Partners Ltd Makes New Investment in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Regal Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CIEN. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 31,161 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 3,156 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 445,359 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $104,156,000 after purchasing an additional 155,712 shares during the last quarter. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. increased its holdings in Ciena by 164.0% in the fourth quarter. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. now owns 660,988 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $154,585,000 after purchasing an additional 410,588 shares during the period. TKG Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ciena in the first quarter valued at $3,244,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its position in Ciena by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 413,332 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $160,468,000 after purchasing an additional 26,900 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of CIEN opened at $350.05 on Wednesday. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $470.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $412.04. Ciena Corporation has a 12 month low of $84.41 and a 12 month high of $637.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 116.68 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total transaction of $739,599.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 42,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,992,499.76. This trade represents a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Marc D. Graff sold 126 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total value of $58,741.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 126,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,186,421. The trade was a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 21,627 shares of company stock worth $10,974,985 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CIEN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Ciena from $372.00 to $607.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ciena from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ciena from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $530.56.

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.