Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $241.6667.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore set a $240.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ciena from $120.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. B. Riley Financial reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Ciena from $175.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th.

Ciena Trading Up 7.5%

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $271.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $234.17 and its 200-day moving average is $174.54. The company has a market cap of $38.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 319.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.13. Ciena has a 52-week low of $49.21 and a 52-week high of $285.97.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. Ciena had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 2.59%.The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ciena will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 83,552 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.44, for a total transaction of $19,170,170.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 307,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,641,134.40. This trade represents a 21.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Michael Nevens sold 8,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.66, for a total transaction of $1,921,741.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,116,746.52. The trade was a 47.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 157,242 shares of company stock valued at $36,341,766 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Ciena in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Ciena by 50.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 104.0% during the third quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ciena Company Profile

Ciena Corporation (NYSE: CIEN) is a global supplier of telecommunications networking equipment, software and services. The company develops high-capacity optical transport systems and packet-optical platforms that enable service providers, cloud operators and large enterprises to build, manage and scale their networks. Ciena’s product portfolio includes coherent optical solutions, packet networking platforms and a suite of network automation software designed to optimize bandwidth, reduce latency and simplify network operations.

In addition to hardware offerings, Ciena provides professional services and support, including network design, implementation and ongoing maintenance.