Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Price Target Raised to $430.00

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $320.00 to $430.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the communications equipment provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 6.58% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on shares of Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ciena from $280.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Ciena from $280.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $135.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.12.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of Ciena stock traded up $19.55 during trading on Monday, reaching $403.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,548,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,469,379. Ciena has a 12-month low of $49.21 and a 12-month high of $419.80. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $298.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $225.46. The company has a market capitalization of $57.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 255.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.07.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ciena will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Patrick Gallagher sold 11,618 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,184 shares in the company, valued at $11,414,350.80. This represents a 18.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 83,552 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.44, for a total value of $19,170,170.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 307,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,641,134.40. This trade represents a 21.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,283 shares of company stock worth $34,372,491. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CIEN. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Ciena during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ciena by 71.0% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 50.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Ciena by 104.0% in the third quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. 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.