Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $78.69.

A number of research firms have commented on CIEN. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Ciena from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays set a $100.00 target price on Ciena and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ciena from $88.00 to $76.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price objective on Ciena from $94.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $89.00 target price (down from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a report on Wednesday, March 12th.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of CIEN traded up $1.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $60.22. 1,959,436 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,019,863. Ciena has a twelve month low of $43.30 and a twelve month high of $101.44. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $68.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.15.

Insider Activity

In other Ciena news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 18,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.88, for a total value of $1,131,013.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 89,258 shares in the company, valued at $5,344,769.04. This represents a 17.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.54, for a total transaction of $404,872.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 375,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,367,987.20. This trade represents a 1.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,288 shares of company stock worth $3,299,980 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ciena

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CIEN. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in Ciena by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 4,978 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Ciena by 108.6% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ciena by 73.7% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 356 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Ciena by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,459 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $887,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,742 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.