Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Shares Up 7.6% – Still a Buy?

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) shares were up 7.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $440.38 and last traded at $446.8610. Approximately 961,128 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 3,416,067 shares. The stock had previously closed at $415.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on CIEN shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Ciena from $320.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ciena from $280.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.12.

Ciena Stock Up 7.9%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $325.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 286.50, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.01.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.43 billion during 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%. Ciena’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 value of $2,025,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 46,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,105. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 21,383 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.89, for a total value of $5,300,631.87. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 91,765 shares in the company, valued at $22,747,625.85. This represents a 18.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,283 shares of company stock worth $36,397,491. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ciena

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 71.0% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Ciena by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.