Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Sets New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Ciena Corporation's stock reached a new 52-week high of $138.35, indicating strong trading interest and potentially favorable market conditions.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets significantly, with estimates ranging from $120.00 to $140.00, reflecting a consensus that Ciena is positioned for growth.
• Recent insider selling has occurred, with key executives divesting shares, although insiders continue to hold a meaningful percentage of the company's stock.

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $138.35 and last traded at $136.12, with a volume of 3375191 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $131.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CIEN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Ciena from $100.00 to $127.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ciena from $102.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Northland Securities set a $100.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a report on Monday, June 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Ciena from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ciena from $78.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ciena presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.75.

Ciena Stock Performance

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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $99.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.93. The company has a market cap of $19.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 142.76, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.16.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $926,160.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,636,223.40. The trade was a 2.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.50, for a total transaction of $187,162.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 84,833 shares in the company, valued at $6,829,056.50. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,769 shares of company stock worth $3,769,163. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 516.6% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 18,719 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 15,683 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Ciena by 322.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 34,035 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,912,000 after buying an additional 25,986 shares in the last quarter. Connective Portfolio Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the second quarter valued at $651,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the first quarter valued at $219,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ciena by 40.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.