Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Receives Hold (C) Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Ciena's stock received a "hold (C)" rating from Weiss Ratings, reflecting ongoing mixed analyst sentiment around the company's performance.
• While several analysts have issued price targets ranging from $100.00 to $140.00, the consensus target stands at $122.86, indicating a "Moderate Buy" rating overall.
• Following recent trades, insiders have sold a notable amount of shares, with one SVP reducing their ownership by 4.10% after selling shares worth $262,943.82.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating reiterated by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

CIEN has been the subject of several other research reports. Northland Securities set a $100.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research note on Monday, June 30th. B. Riley reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $113.00 price objective (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $100.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Ciena to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.86.

Ciena Trading Up 5.4%

Shares of Ciena stock traded up $8.18 on Wednesday, hitting $159.66. 1,979,599 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,799,265. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $115.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.15. The company has a current ratio of 3.28, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ciena has a 52 week low of $49.21 and a 52 week high of $159.85. The company has a market cap of $22.52 billion, a PE ratio of 164.60, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,863 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,143,965.34. The trade was a 4.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.00, for a total transaction of $46,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 42,918 shares in the company, valued at $5,665,176. This trade represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CIEN. Atreides Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the second quarter valued at $102,705,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the first quarter valued at $70,065,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 3,577.9% during the second 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 buying an additional 1,004,323 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 375.4% during the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,235,696 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $100,499,000 after buying an additional 975,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rokos Capital Management LLP boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 843,235 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ciena Company Profile

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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