Empowered Funds LLC Increases Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 26.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,663 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,338 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Ciena were worth $8,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Ciena by 45.3% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Ciena by 635.7% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 103 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In other news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total value of $1,225,639.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 62,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,082,488.40. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.10, for a total transaction of $559,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,921,580.10. The trade was a 2.73% 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,675 shares of company stock valued at $9,387,576. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ciena from $405.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ciena in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ciena in a report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $530.56.

Ciena Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE CIEN opened at $377.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $53.41 billion, a PE ratio of 125.78 and a beta of 1.27. Ciena Corporation has a 1-year low of $84.41 and a 1-year high of $637.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $457.45 and a 200-day moving average of $413.52. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for 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%.Ciena’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

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.