Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Buys 11,515 Shares of Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 16.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,167 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,515 shares during the quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP owned about 0.06% of Ciena worth $31,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Ciena Stock Performance

CIEN opened at $371.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 123.79 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $461.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $413.77. Ciena Corporation has a 1 year low of $84.41 and a 1 year high of $637.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.11.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Marc D. Graff sold 126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total value of $58,741.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 126,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,186,421. The trade was a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.02, for a total transaction of $1,349,123.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 266,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $121,843,817.10. The trade was a 1.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,675 shares of company stock worth $9,387,576. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ciena in a report on Tuesday. Argus set a $650.00 price objective on Ciena in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered Ciena from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on Ciena in a research report on Friday, May 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $416.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $530.56.

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.