Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Sets New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Ciena shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $529.89 on strong volume, pushing the stock well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts have turned more positive with several upgrades and price-target raises (consensus a “Moderate Buy” and average target $355.59), including Bank of America lifting its target to $550 and other firms raising their forecasts.
• The company recently beat quarterly estimates (EPS $1.35 vs. $1.17 est., revenue $1.43B, +33.1% YoY), but insiders have sold shares under 10b5-1 plans (≈42,974 shares worth $16.6M in the last three months) and the stock carries a high trailing P/E (~336.6).

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $529.89 and last traded at $528.5170, with a volume of 1983771 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $475.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ciena from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $355.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $355.59.

Ciena Stock Performance

The business's 50-day moving average price is $410.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $287.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $74.73 billion, a PE ratio of 336.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.01.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ciena news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total value 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 approximately $27,866.40. This trade represents a 99.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total transaction of $1,226,585.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 281,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $116,909,971.15. This represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 42,974 shares of company stock worth $16,615,505 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CIEN. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Ciena in the third quarter worth $25,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ciena by 71.0% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Ciena during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Ciena by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Ciena by 104.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. 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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