Sciencast Management LP Invests $2.15 Million in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN)

Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 25,336 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,149,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CIEN. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 925.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 328 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Ciena by 409.8% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 520 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Ciena by 152.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 847 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.16, for a total transaction of $31,556.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,435,601.52. This trade represents a 0.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.18, for a total transaction of $443,224.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 391,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,534,199.82. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,742 shares of company stock worth $5,469,173 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Ciena stock opened at $65.47 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $80.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.48. The company has a market capitalization of $9.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.86, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.91. Ciena Co. has a 1-year low of $43.30 and a 1-year high of $101.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ciena from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ciena from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $84.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 price target (down from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup increased their target price on Ciena from $84.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Northland Capmk upgraded Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.38.

Ciena 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.