Sterling Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) by 17.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,698 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,731 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ciena were worth $1,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CIEN. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 108.6% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Ciena by 925.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 328 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ciena by 73.7% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 356 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ciena by 328.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 364 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Ciena by 77.2% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 420 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $58.44 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Ciena Co. has a 52-week low of $43.30 and a 52-week high of $101.44. The stock has a market cap of $8.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.53, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $71.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ciena news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 18,888 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.88, for a total transaction of $1,131,013.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 89,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,344,769.04. This trade represents a 17.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP David M. Rothenstein sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.88, for a total value of $172,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 207,370 shares in the company, valued at $14,283,645.60. The trade was a 1.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,288 shares of company stock valued at $3,484,670. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on CIEN shares. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their target price on Ciena from $94.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 price objective (down previously from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Ciena from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Ciena from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.62.

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.