BNP Paribas Financial Markets Buys 68,285 Shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) by 157.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 111,536 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 68,285 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Ciena were worth $9,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in shares of Ciena by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 4,978 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ciena by 108.6% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ciena by 73.7% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 356 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Ciena by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,459 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $887,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ciena by 77.2% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 420 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of CIEN stock opened at $74.68 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $64.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.16. The company has a current ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Ciena Co. has a 12 month low of $44.69 and a 12 month high of $101.44. The company has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 131.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Ciena from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Northland Capmk upgraded Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Ciena from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Northland Securities upgraded Ciena from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $60.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $488,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 368,880 shares in the company, valued at $26,522,472. This trade represents a 1.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.16, for a total value of $31,556.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 49,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,435,601.52. This trade represents a 0.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 49,288 shares of company stock worth $3,211,852. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ciena Company Profile

Ciena Corporation provides hardware and software services for delivery of video, data, and voice traffic metro, aggregation, and access communications network worldwide. The company’s Networking Platforms segment offers convergence of coherent optical transport, open optical networking, optical transport network switching, IP routing, and switching services.