Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Rating Increased to Outperform at BNP Paribas Exane

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Exane has upgraded Ciena's stock rating from "neutral" to "outperform" with a target price of $185.00, indicating a potential upside of 18.56% from its previous close.
• Recent analyst updates reflect a positive sentiment towards Ciena, with Barclays raising their target from $102 to $138 and Zacks upgrading the stock from "hold" to "strong-buy."
• Institutional investors are increasing their stakes in Ciena, with significant purchases noted from Atreides Management and Balyasny Asset Management, highlighting growing confidence in the company's prospects.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at BNP Paribas Exane from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report released on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $185.00 target price on the communications equipment provider's stock. BNP Paribas Exane's target price points to a potential upside of 18.56% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on CIEN. Barclays upped their price target on Ciena from $102.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. BNP Paribas set a $185.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a report on Monday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ciena from $78.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on Ciena from $100.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.53.

Ciena Stock Down 4.6%

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $156.04 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 3.28. The company has a market capitalization of $22.01 billion, a PE ratio of 160.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.15. Ciena has a 52 week low of $49.21 and a 52 week high of $165.24. The company's fifty day moving average is $118.21 and its 200-day moving average is $89.74.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 6th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter. Ciena had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The firm had revenue of $844.44 million for the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that Ciena will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,863 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.14, for a total transaction of $262,943.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,143,965.34. This trade represents a 4.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $1,019,184.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 282,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,276,651.60. The trade was a 2.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,724 shares of company stock valued at $5,336,431. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ciena

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atreides Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Ciena in the second quarter valued at approximately $102,705,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ciena in the first quarter valued at $70,065,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 3,577.9% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,032,393 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $83,965,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004,323 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Ciena by 375.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,235,696 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $100,499,000 after purchasing an additional 975,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rokos Capital Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Ciena by 546.9% in the second quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP now owns 997,425 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $81,106,000 after acquiring an additional 843,235 shares during the period. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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