Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 34,736 Shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 326,654 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,736 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.23% of Ciena worth $27,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ciena by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,408,014 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $148,348,000 after buying an additional 33,074 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter worth $245,000. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Ciena by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,459 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $887,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at $421,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Ciena during the fourth quarter valued at about $755,000. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 18,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.88, for a total value of $1,131,013.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 89,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,344,769.04. This represents a 17.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.29, for a total value of $579,972.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 418,949 shares in the company, valued at $35,732,160.21. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,288 shares of company stock valued at $3,484,670. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CIEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ciena from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $84.00 to $88.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 price objective (down previously from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Ciena from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays set a $100.00 price target on shares of Ciena and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective on Ciena from $94.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.38.

Ciena Price Performance

CIEN opened at $53.86 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a current ratio of 3.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.66 billion, a PE ratio of 94.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $73.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.13. Ciena Co. has a 52-week low of $43.30 and a 52-week high of $101.44.

Ciena Company Profile

Ciena Corporation provides hardware and software services for delivery of video, data, and voice traffic metro, aggregation, and access communications network worldwide. The company’s Networking Platforms segment offers convergence of coherent optical transport, open optical networking, optical transport network switching, IP routing, and switching services.