Plato Investment Management Ltd Invests $2.12 Million in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,355 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,124,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Ciena by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 445,359 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $104,156,000 after acquiring an additional 155,712 shares during the last quarter. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ciena by 164.0% during the fourth quarter. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. now owns 660,988 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $154,585,000 after purchasing an additional 410,588 shares in the last quarter. TKG Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 1st quarter valued at $3,244,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Ciena by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 413,332 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $160,468,000 after purchasing an additional 26,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS grew its stake in Ciena by 1,095.8% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 27,527 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $6,438,000 after buying an additional 25,225 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CIEN opened at $447.24 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ciena Corporation has a 12 month low of $84.41 and a 12 month high of $637.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $424.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $428.37. The stock has a market cap of $63.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 149.08 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CIEN shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ciena from $405.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Argus set a $650.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ciena from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ciena in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $350.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $530.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ciena news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.81, for a total transaction of $1,121,199.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 248,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,565,853.42. This trade represents a 1.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.10, for a total value of $559,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,921,580.10. The trade was a 2.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 17,475 shares of company stock valued at $8,164,824 in the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ciena 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.