Sanford C. Bernstein Initiates Coverage on Ciena (NYSE:CIEN)

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage of Ciena with an “outperform” rating and a $440 price target, implying approximately 24% upside from the stock’s $354.86 price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Ciena has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $490.05, although targets range widely from $394 to $605.
• Ciena recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.11 in EPS versus $1.73 expected and $1.67 billion in revenue, up 37% year over year; however, company directors have sold shares recently, with insiders selling nearly $10 million worth over the past 90 days.

Equities research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set an "outperform" rating and a $440.00 price target on the communications equipment provider's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 23.99% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ciena from $635.00 to $605.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Evercore raised shares of Ciena from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, September 21st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ciena from $508.00 to $394.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ciena has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $490.05.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of Ciena stock opened at $354.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $374.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $440.05. The company has a current ratio of 3.80, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Ciena has a 1-year low of $143.19 and a 1-year high of $637.51.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 25.33%. Ciena's quarterly revenue was up 37.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Ciena will post 6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ciena news, Director Bruce L. Claflin sold 2,857 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.91, for a total transaction of $1,016,834.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,946,578.89. The trade was a 25.66% 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 Nevens sold 3,738 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.04, for a total value of $1,342,091.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,258,002.56. This represents a 37.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,184 shares of company stock worth $9,957,835. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ciena

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Ciena by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 445,359 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $104,156,000 after acquiring an additional 155,712 shares during the last quarter. TKG Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ciena during the first quarter worth $3,244,000. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 413,332 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $160,468,000 after acquiring an additional 26,900 shares in the last quarter. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda acquired a new position in Ciena during the first quarter valued at approximately $10,883,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 983.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 17,168 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $6,665,000 after buying an additional 15,583 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ciena

Ciena Corporation is a networking technology company that provides communications infrastructure, software and services for telecommunications providers, cloud operators, enterprises, governments and research institutions. Its solutions are designed to help organizations build, manage and automate high-capacity networks that support applications such as cloud computing, broadband connectivity, data center interconnection and 5G services.

The company's portfolio includes optical networking systems and coherent optical technologies, routing and switching platforms, broadband access solutions, network management software and professional services.

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