Meeder Asset Management Inc. Takes $1.23 Million Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,155 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,225,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ciena during the 1st quarter worth about $395,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 139.6% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,253 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 3,061 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ciena by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 222,054 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,117 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Ciena by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,762 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $234,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CIEN shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $285.00 to $508.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $615.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, May 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of Ciena in a research report on Friday, May 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $416.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. 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 report on Friday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $530.56.

Ciena Stock Up 1.0%

Ciena stock opened at $378.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.55 billion, a PE ratio of 126.10 and a beta of 1.27. Ciena Corporation has a twelve month low of $83.20 and a twelve month high of $637.51. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $491.11 and a 200-day moving average of $405.90.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Ciena had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In other news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,629 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total value of $1,225,639.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 62,382 shares in the company, valued at $29,082,488.40. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total value of $58,741.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 126,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,186,421. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,627 shares of company stock worth $10,974,985. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

About Ciena

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.