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

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase raised its price target on Ciena from $250 to $380 and kept an overweight rating, implying roughly a 6.9% upside from the stock's then-current price.
• Multiple other analysts also lifted targets (many near ~$280), leaving the consensus at a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $260.80 (1 Strong Buy, 9 Buy, 8 Hold).
• Ciena shares traded around $355.42 after an earnings beat ($0.91 EPS vs $0.76 consensus; revenue up 20.1% to $1.35B), while insiders sold about $37.2M of stock even as institutional ownership remains high (~92%).

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $250.00 to $380.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the communications equipment provider's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price would indicate a potential upside of 6.92% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on CIEN. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ciena from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Ciena to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $213.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Ciena from $138.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $260.80.

Ciena Trading Up 1.9%

Ciena stock traded up $6.72 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $355.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,935,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,428,094. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.28 billion, a PE ratio of 418.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.07. Ciena has a 12 month low of $49.21 and a 12 month high of $365.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $266.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $198.45.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. Ciena had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ciena will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In related news, Director Thomas Michael Nevens sold 8,554 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.66, for a total value of $1,921,741.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,116,746.52. This trade represents a 47.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Patrick Gallagher sold 11,618 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.45, for a total transaction of $2,642,514.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 50,184 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,414,350.80. This represents a 18.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 160,083 shares of company stock worth $37,204,740. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ciena

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CIEN. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,747,810,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Ciena by 30,114.5% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,870,677 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $671,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,861,176 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $292,310,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,051,625 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $947,554,000 after buying an additional 1,404,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atreides Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Ciena during the second quarter worth $102,705,000. 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.

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