EAM Investors LLC Invests $5.39 Million in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN)

EAM Investors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 63,546 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,389,000. Ciena accounts for approximately 0.8% of EAM Investors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 108.6% during 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 last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Ciena by 925.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 328 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 73.7% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 356 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Ciena by 328.2% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Stock Down 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CIEN traded down $2.62 on Monday, reaching $57.52. The company had a trading volume of 227,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,012,773. The company has a quick ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $68.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.97. Ciena Co. has a twelve month low of $43.30 and a twelve month high of $101.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CIEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Ciena from $88.00 to $76.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $89.00 price target (down previously from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Ciena from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Northland Capmk upgraded Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Northland Securities upgraded Ciena from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $60.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 18,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.88, for a total value of $1,131,013.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 89,258 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,344,769.04. This represents a 17.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.86, for a total transaction of $577,048.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 412,149 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,974,964.14. This represents a 1.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,288 shares of company stock worth $3,299,980 over the last 90 days. 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.