Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Stock

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target on Ciena to $280 from $270 and kept a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 20.74% upside from the previous close.
• Ciena beat quarterly expectations with $0.91 EPS vs. $0.76 consensus and $1.35B revenue (up 20.1% YoY), contributing to a market consensus of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $241.67.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently, offloading 167,890 shares worth about $38.3M in the last 90 days, leaving insiders with just 0.93% ownership.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $270.00 to $280.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the communications equipment provider's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price objective suggests a potential upside of 20.74% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $213.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Zacks Research raised Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Evercore ISI set a $240.00 target price on Ciena in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ciena presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $241.67.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $231.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $32.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 272.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $219.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.65. Ciena has a fifty-two week low of $49.21 and a fifty-two week high of $261.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.73.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 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 business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The business's revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ciena will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ciena news, Director Thomas Michael Nevens sold 8,554 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.66, for a total value of $1,921,741.64. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,116,746.52. This represents a 47.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Patrick Gallagher sold 11,618 shares of the business's 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 sale, the director directly owned 50,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,414,350.80. This trade represents a 18.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 167,890 shares of company stock valued at $38,277,035. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jackson Square Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at $1,551,000. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in Ciena by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,719 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,338,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the fourth quarter worth approximately $702,000. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Ciena by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,694 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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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