Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI set a $240.00 price target on Ciena in a report on Thursday, December 11th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ciena from $138.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.50.

Ciena Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $240.06 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $198.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.86. Ciena has a 12-month low of $49.21 and a 12-month high of $248.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 282.42, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.17.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ciena will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 550 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.84, for a total transaction of $121,462.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 39,992 shares in the company, valued at $8,831,833.28. This trade represents a 1.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,863 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.14, for a total transaction of $262,943.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,143,965.34. This represents a 4.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 47,412 shares of company stock worth $8,877,100 over the last three months. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Ciena by 9.5% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 48,976 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,960,000 after purchasing an additional 4,265 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Ciena by 224.2% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,304 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 10,583 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 450.6% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,150 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 5,033 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its position in Ciena by 20.9% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 14,347 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in Ciena in the first quarter valued at approximately $185,000. 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.