Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $285.97 and last traded at $253.75, with a volume of 5485292 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $276.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 21st. Raymond James Financial set a $240.00 price objective on Ciena in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $213.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ciena in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $241.67.

Ciena Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.30. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $38.29 billion, a PE ratio of 319.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ciena news, Director Thomas Michael Nevens sold 8,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.66, for a total transaction of $1,921,741.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,116,746.52. This represents a 47.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 21,383 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.89, for a total value of $5,300,631.87. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 91,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,747,625.85. The trade was a 18.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 164,042 shares of company stock valued at $37,766,026 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Ciena by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 710 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 50.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Ciena by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,055 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Ciena by 11.1% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Ciena by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,549 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.