Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Nineteen analysts give Ciena a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" (12 buys, 6 holds, 1 strong buy) with an average 12‑month target of about $355.59 and recent price targets ranging up to $425.00.
• Insider selling vs. institutional ownership: Company insiders sold 42,974 shares (~$16.6M) last quarter (including the CEO and an SVP), while institutions own roughly 91.99% of the stock, with several large investors materially increasing positions.
• Recent results and valuation: Ciena beat estimates with quarterly EPS of $1.35 vs. $1.17 and revenue of $1.43B (up 33.1% YoY), but the stock trades near $520 with a market cap of $73.6B and a high valuation (PE ~331).

Shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $355.5882.

CIEN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on Ciena from $280.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $425.00 price objective for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ciena news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.53, for a total value of $1,061,332.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 293,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,372,490.52. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 46,341 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,768,105. The trade was a 9.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 42,974 shares of company stock worth $16,615,505. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at $2,747,810,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Ciena by 23.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,462,840 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $941,451,000 after buying an additional 1,219,787 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Ciena by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,102,409 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,193,300,000 after buying an additional 750,128 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Ciena by 53.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,051,625 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $947,554,000 after buying an additional 1,404,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Ciena by 10.4% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,495,795 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $284,313,000 after buying an additional 329,821 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Price Performance

Ciena stock opened at $520.34 on Friday. Ciena has a 12 month low of $63.99 and a 12 month high of $527.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $399.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $280.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.58 billion, a PE ratio of 331.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.01.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.18. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ciena will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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