GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Takes $16.69 Million Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 114,555 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,687,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 104.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Ciena by 50.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Ciena by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 51,075 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,440,000 after buying an additional 6,520 shares during the last quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ciena during the third quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth about $229,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $303.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.80 billion, a PE ratio of 357.48, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business’s 50 day moving average is $243.93 and its 200-day moving average is $181.18. Ciena Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.21 and a 1-year high of $308.81.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 8.38%. Ciena’s quarterly revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on CIEN. Zacks Research downgraded Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ciena to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on Ciena from $120.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Argus increased their target price on Ciena from $135.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ciena news, Director Thomas Michael Nevens sold 8,554 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.66, for a total transaction of $1,921,741.64. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,116,746.52. The trade was a 47.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 21,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.89, for a total transaction of $5,300,631.87. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 91,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,747,625.85. This represents a 18.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 157,242 shares of company stock worth $36,341,766 in the last quarter. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.