Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Ciena has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 20 brokerages, with 13 buy ratings, 6 holds, and 1 strong buy. The average 12-month price target is about $398.83.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.35 versus estimates of $1.17 and revenue of $1.43 billion versus estimates of $1.40 billion. Revenue grew 33.1% year over year.
• Several major analysts raised their price targets sharply, including TD Cowen, JPMorgan, and Bank of America. Meanwhile, insiders have sold shares recently, including the CEO and an SVP, though institutional ownership remains high at 91.99%.

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $398.8333.

CIEN has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore set a $330.00 price target on Ciena in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Ciena from $355.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th.

Ciena Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE CIEN opened at $541.52 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 344.92, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $463.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $320.95. Ciena has a 52-week low of $70.77 and a 52-week high of $598.84.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.Ciena's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ciena will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total value of $2,025,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 46,341 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,768,105. This represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total value of $1,226,585.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 281,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,909,971.15. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 44,174 shares of company stock valued at $18,878,661 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in Ciena by 635.7% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 103 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Ciena by 71.0% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ciena during the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Ciena by 85.5% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 141 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Ciena during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ciena

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.

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