Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Sunday.

CIEN has been the subject of several other reports. Zacks Research lowered Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Northland Capmk downgraded Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Raymond James Financial set a $240.00 price target on Ciena in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Citigroup increased their price target on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.50.

Ciena Stock Performance

NYSE:CIEN opened at $239.99 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $49.21 and a fifty-two week high of $248.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.13. The company has a market capitalization of $33.80 billion, a PE ratio of 282.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.14, for a total value of $262,943.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,143,965.34. This trade represents a 4.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.61, for a total value of $1,309,748.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 254,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,090,510.70. This trade represents a 2.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,412 shares of company stock valued at $8,877,100. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ciena

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CIEN. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in 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 period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Ciena by 104.0% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Ciena in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other 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.