Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Given New $76.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) had its price objective trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $88.00 to $76.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the communications equipment provider's stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on CIEN. Northland Capmk upgraded Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Ciena from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Ciena from $94.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $89.00 price target (down from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four investment 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.69.

Ciena Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE CIEN traded up $1.35 during trading on Thursday, hitting $59.19. 476,849 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,010,451. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a current ratio of 3.55. Ciena has a 12-month low of $43.30 and a 12-month high of $101.44. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $68.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a PE ratio of 103.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 18,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.88, for a total value of $1,131,013.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 89,258 shares in the company, valued at $5,344,769.04. The trade was a 17.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.86, for a total value of $577,048.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 412,149 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,974,964.14. This represents a 1.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,288 shares of company stock worth $3,299,980 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ciena

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CIEN. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Ciena by 108.6% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 925.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 328 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ciena by 73.7% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 356 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Ciena by 328.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 364 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Ciena by 77.2% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 420 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. 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.