Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Raises Stock Position in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,085 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Ciena were worth $3,829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Ion Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,356,752 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $81,989,000 after purchasing an additional 80,426 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Ciena during the first quarter worth approximately $70,065,000. Analog Century Management LP boosted its position in Ciena by 33.0% during the first quarter. Analog Century Management LP now owns 841,311 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $50,840,000 after acquiring an additional 208,509 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in Ciena during the first quarter worth approximately $49,221,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Ciena by 0.4% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 813,979 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $66,242,000 after acquiring an additional 2,968 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ciena Stock Performance

NYSE:CIEN opened at $145.65 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.28, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 150.15, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.64. Ciena Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.21 and a twelve month high of $146.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CIEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ciena from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. B. Riley restated a “neutral” rating and set a $113.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Ciena in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $100.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In related news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.23, for a total transaction of $559,164.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 325,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,770,552.11. The trade was a 2.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.00, for a total transaction of $46,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,918 shares in the company, valued at $5,665,176. The trade was a 0.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,924 shares of company stock worth $4,317,247. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

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.