Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Shares in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 482,480 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $40,919,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of Ciena at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CIEN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Ciena by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,316,640 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,299,004,000 after acquiring an additional 139,941 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ciena by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,236,920 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $444,143,000 after purchasing an additional 17,447 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ciena by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,419,947 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $205,301,000 after purchasing an additional 11,933 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ciena by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 959,831 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $81,403,000 after purchasing an additional 4,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Ciena by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 799,546 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $67,810,000 after purchasing an additional 143,350 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ciena Stock Performance

CIEN stock traded down $1.83 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $58.31. The stock had a trading volume of 83,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,012,194. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.97. Ciena Co. has a 52 week low of $43.30 and a 52 week high of $101.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CIEN shares. Northland Capmk upgraded Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Ciena from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on shares of Ciena from $94.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Ciena and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.69.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.16, for a total transaction of $31,556.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 49,197 shares in the company, valued at $4,435,601.52. This trade represents a 0.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.54, for a total value of $404,872.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 375,680 shares in the company, valued at $22,367,987.20. This trade represents a 1.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 49,288 shares of company stock valued at $3,299,980. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

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.