Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on CIEN. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $175.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ciena from $138.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $185.00 target price on Ciena and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $190.00 price target on Ciena and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $241.67.

Ciena Trading Up 2.8%

CIEN stock opened at $297.93 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.96 billion, a PE ratio of 350.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.73. Ciena has a one year low of $49.21 and a one year high of $298.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $237.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.44.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Ciena will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 11,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.82, for a total value of $2,741,522.78. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 49,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,370,344.50. The trade was a 19.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 83,552 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 307,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,641,134.40. This represents a 21.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 157,242 shares of company stock worth $36,341,766 over the last 90 days. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Ciena during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ciena by 50.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Ciena by 104.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.