Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Earns Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC reiterated its Buy rating on Ciena and set a $600 price target, implying about 30.48% upside from the current share price.
• Ciena’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $1.64 versus $1.46 expected and revenue of $1.57 billion versus $1.50 billion forecast; revenue also rose 39.5% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive overall, with 13 Buy ratings and 7 Hold ratings, and a consensus price target of $530.56 across Wall Street.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $600.00 target price on the communications equipment provider's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target indicates a potential upside of 30.48% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Ciena from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $285.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Ciena from $350.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $450.00 target price on Ciena in a report on Friday, June 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ciena has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $530.56.

Ciena Price Performance

CIEN opened at $459.82 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.09 billion, a PE ratio of 153.28 and a beta of 1.24. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $519.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $375.02. Ciena has a 52-week low of $73.55 and a 52-week high of $637.51.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 7.87%.The firm's revenue was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ciena will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total transaction of $9,021,337.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 68 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,866.40. This trade represents a 99.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.02, for a total value of $1,349,123.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 266,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at $121,843,817.10. The trade was a 1.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 40,374 shares of company stock valued at $18,324,470 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ciena

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. KBC Group NV increased its position in Ciena by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 31,161 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 3,156 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 445,359 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $104,156,000 after buying an additional 155,712 shares in the last quarter. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 164.0% in the 4th quarter. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. now owns 660,988 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $154,585,000 after buying an additional 410,588 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 1,095.8% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 27,527 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $6,438,000 after buying an additional 25,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ciena by 222.7% during the 4th quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,596 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,712,000 after buying an additional 8,003 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

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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