Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Invests $362,000 in Ciena Corporation $CIEN

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,486 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,993,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ciena during the third quarter worth $1,726,000. World Investment Advisors bought a new position in Ciena during the second quarter valued at $253,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 7.4% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,243,053 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $426,420,000 after acquiring an additional 359,579 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 112,011 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $16,317,000 after acquiring an additional 31,225 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ciena Stock Up 2.9%

Ciena stock opened at $311.21 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $44.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 366.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day moving average of $249.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.68. Ciena Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.21 and a twelve month high of $317.28.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ciena from $120.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ciena in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on Ciena from $138.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $241.67.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 21,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.89, for a total value of $5,300,631.87. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 91,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,747,625.85. This trade represents a 18.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.60, for a total value of $784,051.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,195,264. The trade was a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 157,131 shares of company stock valued at $36,320,587. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.