Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Stock Price Down 3.1% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Ciena shares fell 3.1% to about $428.92 in mid-day trading, with volume below its daily average.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: 13 analysts rate the stock a Buy and seven rate it a Hold, resulting in a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $530.56.
• Ciena’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $1.64 versus $1.46 expected and revenue of $1.57 billion, up 39.5% year over year; however, insiders have sold $8.16 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) traded down 3.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $422.49 and last traded at $428.9240. 2,513,931 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 2,951,541 shares. The stock had previously closed at $442.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $320.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on Ciena in a research report on Friday, May 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $416.00 target price for the company. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $530.56.

Ciena Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $60.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 142.97 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock's fifty day moving average is $425.62 and its 200-day moving average is $425.57.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.18. Ciena had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In related news, CFO Marc D. Graff sold 126 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total transaction of $58,741.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 126,955 shares in the company, valued at $59,186,421. The trade was a 0.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.02, for a total transaction of $1,349,123.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 266,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,843,817.10. This trade represents a 1.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,475 shares of company stock valued at $8,164,824. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ciena

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Front Street Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ciena in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $23,535,000. Globeflex Capital L P bought a new position in Ciena during the second quarter valued at $6,695,000. Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ciena in the second quarter worth $946,000. Alta Advisers Ltd purchased a new stake in Ciena in the second quarter worth $254,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ciena in the second quarter valued at $256,000. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source