Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Stock Price Down 8% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Shares of Ciena fell about 8% to roughly $466 on Tuesday, with just 812,014 shares traded—about 75% below the average session volume.
• Analysts' consensus is a Moderate Buy with a consensus target of $355.59 (below the current price), though several firms have raised targets—Bank of America to $550—and the majority of analysts rate it Buy.
• Ciena beat quarterly estimates (EPS $1.35 vs. $1.17; revenue up 33.1% y/y), but the stock carries a high P/E of 300.5 and insiders sold about 42,974 shares (~$16.6M) in the last 90 days.

Shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) traded down 8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $469.14 and last traded at $465.9020. 812,014 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 3,226,671 shares. The stock had previously closed at $506.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $355.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $355.59.

Ciena Stock Down 7.0%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $403.54 and a 200 day moving average of $284.23. The stock has a market cap of $66.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 300.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.14.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 46,341 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,105. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 68 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,866.40. This trade represents a 99.69% 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 have sold a total of 42,974 shares of company stock worth $16,615,505 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ciena

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in Ciena during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 71.0% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena in the third quarter worth $28,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 50.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 104.0% in the third quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

About Ciena

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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