Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.18 EPS

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.18, FiscalAI reports. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of Ciena stock opened at $623.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $88.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 396.86 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ciena has a 12 month low of $70.77 and a 12 month high of $637.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $512.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $351.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.00, for a total transaction of $2,025,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 46,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,105. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total value of $9,021,337.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 68 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,866.40. This represents a 99.69% 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 have sold 44,174 shares of company stock worth $19,502,359. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ciena

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ciena by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 154 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter worth $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CIEN shares. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Ciena from $280.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ciena from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $420.39.

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.