Brokerages Set Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) Target Price at $79.62

Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $78.69.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ciena from $88.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 target price (down from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Ciena from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Northland Capmk upgraded Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Ciena from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th.

Ciena Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of CIEN stock opened at $60.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $68.73 and a 200-day moving average of $73.91. The firm has a market cap of $8.56 billion, a PE ratio of 105.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Ciena has a 12 month low of $43.30 and a 12 month high of $101.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 18,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 89,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,344,769.04. This trade represents a 17.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.86, for a total transaction of $577,048.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 412,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,974,964.14. This represents a 1.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,288 shares of company stock worth $3,299,980 in the last quarter. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ciena

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CIEN. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 108.6% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 925.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 328 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 328.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ciena by 73.7% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 356 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.