Hel Ved Capital Management Ltd Acquires Shares of 48,100 Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN)

Hel Ved Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 48,100 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,079,000. Ciena comprises approximately 1.2% of Hel Ved Capital Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CIEN. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Ciena by 28.7% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,951 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of Ciena by 178,956.3% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 28,649 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,764,000 after buying an additional 28,633 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ciena by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 45,426 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,777,000 after acquiring an additional 2,693 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Ciena in the third quarter valued at $269,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Ciena by 11.9% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 20,107 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 2,137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Stock Performance

NYSE:CIEN opened at $53.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Ciena Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.30 and a fifty-two week high of $101.44. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.08. The stock has a market cap of $7.61 billion, a PE ratio of 93.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ciena news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 18,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.88, for a total value of $1,131,013.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 89,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,344,769.04. This represents a 17.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.29, for a total value of $579,972.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 418,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,732,160.21. This trade represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 66,200 shares of company stock worth $4,921,513. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CIEN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on Ciena from $94.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ciena from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $84.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Ciena from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 price objective (down from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.38.

Ciena Company 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.