Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Increases Position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 118,202 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,360 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. owned 0.08% of Ciena worth $7,143,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the first quarter valued at about $585,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Ciena during the first quarter worth about $219,000. Praxis Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ciena by 35.0% during the first quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,740 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in Ciena by 14.0% during the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,926 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in Ciena by 1.1% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 16,649 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target (up from $89.00) on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, June 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, June 6th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Northland Securities set a $85.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ciena from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.15.

Ciena Stock Up 5.2%

CIEN stock opened at $79.38 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.22 billion, a PE ratio of 110.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.12. Ciena Corporation has a 12 month low of $44.89 and a 12 month high of $101.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.40 and a quick ratio of 2.57.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 5.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 18,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.88, for a total transaction of $1,131,013.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 89,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,344,769.04. This trade represents a 17.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.54, for a total transaction of $404,872.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 375,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,367,987.20. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,638 shares of company stock worth $3,345,797 over the last ninety days. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ciena 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.