Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Shares Up 9.7% – Still a Buy?

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) shares traded up 9.7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $427.18 and last traded at $425.2610. 755,670 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 2,932,728 shares. The stock had previously closed at $387.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on CIEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Bank of America upped their target price on Ciena from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays raised their price target on Ciena from $372.00 to $607.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on Ciena from $283.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ciena currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $530.56.

Ciena Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $62.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 147.29 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $431.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $422.62.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.18. Ciena had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 7.87%.The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In related news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,586 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total transaction of $739,599.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 42,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,992,499.76. The trade was a 3.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.81, for a total transaction of $1,121,199.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 248,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,565,853.42. This trade represents a 1.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,627 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,776. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the second quarter valued at approximately $256,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new stake in Ciena during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $294,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Ciena in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,124,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Ciena in the 2nd quarter valued at $404,948,000. Finally, Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Ciena in the 2nd quarter valued at $787,000. 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.