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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $250.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Argus boosted their price objective on Ciena from $135.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Ciena from $280.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised Ciena from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $355.00 in a research note on Friday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ciena currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.12.

Ciena Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $63.35 billion, a PE ratio of 286.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $325.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $240.45.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last released 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. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ciena news, Director Patrick Gallagher sold 11,618 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.45, for a total value of $2,642,514.10. Following the sale, the director owned 50,184 shares in the company, valued at $11,414,350.80. This trade represents a 18.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 11,929 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.82, for a total value of $2,741,522.78. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 49,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,370,344.50. This trade represents a 19.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 148,283 shares of company stock worth $36,397,491 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Ciena during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ciena by 71.0% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Ciena during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Ciena by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Ciena by 104.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in 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.