Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Price Target Raised to $280.00

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) had its price target increased by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $270.00 to $280.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the communications equipment provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 20.74% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $213.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $175.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Citigroup increased their price target on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Ciena to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $241.67.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of Ciena stock opened at $231.90 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 272.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.13. Ciena has a twelve month low of $49.21 and a twelve month high of $261.13. 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 50-day simple moving average of $219.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.65.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ciena will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 11,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.82, for a total transaction of $2,741,522.78. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 49,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,370,344.50. This represents a 19.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Patrick Gallagher sold 11,618 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.45, for a total transaction of $2,642,514.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,414,350.80. This trade represents a 18.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 167,890 shares of company stock worth $38,277,035. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ciena

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in Ciena in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in Ciena during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Ciena during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in Ciena during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

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.