StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Ciena (NYSE:CIEN)

Research analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Ciena (NYSE:CIEN – Get Rating) in a research report issued on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the communications equipment provider’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on CIEN. MKM Partners upped their price target on Ciena from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 9th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Ciena to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ciena from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Finally, Cowen increased their target price on Ciena from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.00.

Ciena Stock Performance

Ciena stock opened at $49.78 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.54, a current ratio of 3.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.80, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $49.80 and its 200 day moving average is $46.60. Ciena has a twelve month low of $38.33 and a twelve month high of $61.97.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 6th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.04 million. Ciena had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 4.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ciena will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 3,541 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total transaction of $181,157.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 476,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,396,362.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 3,541 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total value of $181,157.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 476,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,396,362.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.73, for a total value of $50,577.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 46,206 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,030.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 63,735 shares of company stock valued at $3,708,953 in the last ninety days. 0.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Ciena by 5.9% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 16,827,359 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $680,330,000 after acquiring an additional 933,250 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Ciena by 3.9% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,218,280 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $255,754,000 after acquiring an additional 160,100 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its holdings in Ciena by 11.6% during the third quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 4,031,790 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $163,830,000 after acquiring an additional 420,111 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its holdings in Ciena by 4.6% during the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 3,325,040 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $134,431,000 after acquiring an additional 146,936 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in Ciena by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 3,317,857 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $169,144,000 after acquiring an additional 178,020 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ciena Company Profile

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Ciena Corp. engages in the provision of network and communication infrastructure. It operates through the following segments: Networking Platforms, Platform Software and Services, Blue Planet Automation Software and Services, and Global Services. The Networking Platforms segment consists of Converged Packet Optical and Packet Networking portfolios.