Primecap Management Co. CA Has $85.54 Million Stock Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 587,200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,700 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Ciena were worth $85,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 3.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,749 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ciena by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 3,268 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at $124,000. TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at $21,020,000. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,819,000. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ciena Trading Down 3.5%

CIEN stock opened at $341.11 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $263.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Ciena Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.21 and a fifty-two week high of $365.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 401.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.13.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. Ciena had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 2.59%.The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Ciena news, Director Patrick Gallagher sold 11,618 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.45, for a total value of $2,642,514.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 50,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,414,350.80. This trade represents a 18.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.51, for a total transaction of $884,153.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 298,988 shares in the company, valued at $89,549,895.88. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 160,083 shares of company stock worth $37,204,740. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CIEN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ciena to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ciena from $213.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Ciena from $175.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ciena from $138.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ciena in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.13.

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.