SG Americas Securities LLC Boosts Stock Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 147.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 190,949 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 113,744 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Ciena were worth $74,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ciena by 71.0% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Ciena by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 154 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total transaction of $9,021,337.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 68 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,866.40. This trade represents a 99.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.10, for a total value of $559,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,921,580.10. The trade was a 2.73% decrease in their position. 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 have sold a total of 40,374 shares of company stock worth $18,324,470 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CIEN shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ciena from $372.00 to $607.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $615.00 price objective on Ciena in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on Ciena in a report on Friday, May 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $416.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Ciena from $285.00 to $508.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Argus set a $650.00 price target on Ciena in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $530.56.

Ciena Stock Performance

CIEN opened at $459.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.09 billion, a PE ratio of 153.28 and a beta of 1.24. Ciena Corporation has a twelve month low of $73.55 and a twelve month high of $637.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $519.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $375.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 18.15%. Ciena’s revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.