Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Sets New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Ciena hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $593 and last around $580, well above its previous close of $548.11.
• Recent analyst activity has been broadly positive, with multiple firms raising price targets and the stock carrying an overall Moderate Buy consensus; the average target price is $367.56.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, with Q1 EPS of $1.35 versus $1.17 expected and revenue up 33.1% year over year to $1.43 billion.

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $593.00 and last traded at $580.3080, with a volume of 2379023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $548.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ciena from $286.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on Ciena from $280.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ciena from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Ciena from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $367.56.

Ciena Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $435.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $304.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.81. The company has a market capitalization of $82.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 369.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.24.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.18. Ciena had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company 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 company's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total transaction of $2,025,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 46,341 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,105. The trade was a 9.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.53, for a total value of $1,061,332.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 293,084 shares in the company, valued at $105,372,490.52. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 42,974 shares of company stock worth $17,418,863 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ciena

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC lifted its stake in Ciena by 1.8% in the first quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC now owns 1,142 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Ciena by 1.8% during the first quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in Ciena by 9.5% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 358 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Ciena by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,107 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,194,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Ciena by 71.0% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently 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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