JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Stock

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $76.00 to $86.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the communications equipment provider's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective indicates a potential upside of 5.40% from the stock's current price.

CIEN has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays set a $100.00 price target on Ciena and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Ciena from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on shares of Ciena from $73.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Northland Securities raised shares of Ciena from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $60.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.69.

Ciena Stock Down 1.3%

Ciena stock traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $81.60. 1,122,020 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,029,431. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a current ratio of 3.55. The company has a market cap of $11.60 billion, a PE ratio of 143.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.42. Ciena has a 12 month low of $44.69 and a 12 month high of $101.44.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In related news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.54, for a total value of $404,872.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 375,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,367,987.20. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.67, for a total value of $27,534.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 46,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,637,150.11. This trade represents a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,588 shares of company stock valued at $3,950,907 in the last three months. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CIEN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Ciena by 195.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,626,153 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $392,345,000 after buying an additional 3,062,883 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Ciena in the 1st quarter valued at about $70,065,000. Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its stake in Ciena by 113.7% in the 4th quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,169,406 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $183,987,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,260 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 4,215.9% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 899,828 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $76,314,000 after purchasing an additional 878,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the first quarter valued at approximately $49,221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.

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.