Pacifica Partners Inc. Has $2.80 Million Stock Position in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN)

Pacifica Partners Inc. lessened its stake in Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,695 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,905 shares during the quarter. Ciena comprises approximately 1.2% of Pacifica Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Pacifica Partners Inc.’s holdings in Ciena were worth $2,804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new stake in Ciena during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Ciena by 424.4% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 451 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Ciena by 152.8% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 847 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the period. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ciena Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE CIEN opened at $83.34 on Wednesday. Ciena Co. has a 52 week low of $43.30 and a 52 week high of $91.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 2.99 and a current ratio of 4.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $77.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.66, a PEG ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.89.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.12). Ciena had a return on equity of 5.98% and a net margin of 3.44%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ciena Co. will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ciena announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 2nd that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the communications equipment provider to buy up to 10.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Ciena news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,289 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.99, for a total transaction of $88,928.11. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,724,139.14. The trade was a 3.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 13,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.66, for a total value of $1,137,776.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 425,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,618,161.34. The trade was a 3.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,631 shares of company stock worth $3,688,460 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised Ciena from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $70.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered Ciena from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $63.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ciena from $67.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Ciena from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Ciena from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, October 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ciena has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.00.

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.