Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Given New $660.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America raised its price target on Ciena from $550 to $660 and kept a buy rating, implying about 10.5% upside from the prior close.
• Ciena’s stock surged 2.3% to $597.20 in midday trading, near its 52-week high of $605, amid strong recent momentum and heavy analyst attention.
• The company recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.35 versus $1.17 expected and revenue up 33.1% year over year to $1.43 billion.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Bank of America from $550.00 to $660.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the communications equipment provider's stock. Bank of America's price objective indicates a potential upside of 10.52% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ciena from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $404.94.

Ciena Trading Up 2.3%

CIEN stock traded up $13.46 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $597.20. 797,591 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,996,058. Ciena has a 12-month low of $70.77 and a 12-month high of $605.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 380.38, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $483.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $331.92. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ciena will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.65, for a total transaction of $684,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,074,931.65. The trade was a 2.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through 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 the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.05, for a total value of $1,659,171.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 272,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $153,163,683.45. The trade was a 1.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,174 shares of company stock worth $18,878,661. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Ciena by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 31,161 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $7,288,000 after acquiring an additional 3,156 shares in the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ciena during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,726,000. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ciena by 164.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 410,588 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $2,712,000 after acquiring an additional 8,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS boosted its position in shares of Ciena by 1,095.8% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 27,527 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $6,438,000 after acquiring an additional 25,225 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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