Westpac Banking Corp Invests $1.61 Million in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new position in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,866 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,606,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CIEN. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Ciena during the third quarter worth $25,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted 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 period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Ciena by 104.0% in the third quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ciena by 42.5% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 312 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CIEN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ciena from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Ciena from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $420.39.

Ciena Stock Down 0.6%

CIEN opened at $623.07 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $512.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $351.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.81. Ciena Corporation has a one year low of $70.77 and a one year high of $637.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 396.86 and a beta of 1.24.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.18. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In other news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.65, for a total transaction of $684,780.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,074,931.65. The trade was a 2.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total value of $9,021,337.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 68 shares in the company, valued at $27,866.40. This trade represents a 99.69% 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 90 days, insiders have sold 44,174 shares of company stock worth $19,502,359. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.