Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN – Free Report) by 48.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 156,922 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 146,396 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ciena were worth $60,922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC boosted its position in shares of Ciena by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC now owns 1,142 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Ciena by 9.5% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 358 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ciena by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,107 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ciena by 71.0% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Ciena by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,629 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CFO Marc D. Graff sold 126 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total transaction of $58,741.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 126,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,186,421. This trade represents a 0.10% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Jason Phipps sold 2,629 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total transaction of $1,225,639.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 62,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,082,488.40. The trade was a 4.04% 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. Insiders have sold 21,627 shares of company stock worth $10,974,985 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Ciena Stock Down 3.9%
Ciena (NYSE:CIEN – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities analysts have commented on CIEN shares. B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $283.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ciena from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ciena from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Ciena from $320.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $530.56.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Ciena
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.
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