Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $83.89, but opened at $76.85. Ciena shares last traded at $72.52, with a volume of 3,508,713 shares changing hands.

The communications equipment provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.08). Ciena had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 4.72%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CIEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ciena from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Ciena from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Ciena from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $85.00 target price on Ciena in a research report on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.15.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.67, for a total value of $27,534.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 46,233 shares in the company, valued at $3,637,150.11. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP David M. Rothenstein sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.88, for a total transaction of $172,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 207,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,283,645.60. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 51,788 shares of company stock valued at $3,431,319. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,308,000. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ciena in the fourth quarter worth about $328,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ciena in the fourth quarter worth about $263,000. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the fourth quarter worth about $56,997,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ciena Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $70.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.91. The firm has a market cap of $10.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 127.86, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.12.

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.