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

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Evercore set a $240.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on Ciena from $120.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $185.00 price target on Ciena and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Ciena from $175.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.67.

Ciena Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of NYSE CIEN opened at $297.93 on Monday. Ciena has a 1-year low of $49.21 and a 1-year high of $298.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $237.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.96 billion, a P/E 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 current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.09.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ciena news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.60, for a total transaction of $784,051.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,195,264. This trade represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas Michael Nevens sold 8,554 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.66, for a total value of $1,921,741.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,116,746.52. This trade represents a 47.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 157,242 shares of company stock valued at $36,341,766 in the last 90 days. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ciena by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,107 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 710 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 50.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Ciena by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,055 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ciena by 11.1% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.