Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd Has $4.23 Million Holdings in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN)

Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd decreased its holdings in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,828 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 49,828 shares during the quarter. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd's holdings in Ciena were worth $4,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CIEN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Ciena by 195.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,626,153 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $392,345,000 after buying an additional 3,062,883 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Ciena by 4,215.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 899,828 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $76,314,000 after purchasing an additional 878,979 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,997,000. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. acquired a new position in Ciena during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,341,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Ciena by 4,484.1% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 529,555 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $44,912,000 after purchasing an additional 518,003 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of CIEN opened at $66.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.79, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.15. Ciena Co. has a twelve month low of $44.69 and a twelve month high of $101.44. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CIEN shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Ciena from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Ciena from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ciena from $88.00 to $76.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on shares of Ciena from $73.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.62.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.16, for a total value of $31,556.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 49,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,435,601.52. The trade was a 0.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 412,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,974,964.14. This trade represents a 1.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,288 shares of company stock worth $3,299,980 over the last 90 days. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Ciena

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.

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