B. Riley Financial Cuts Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Price Target to $413.00

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) had its price objective trimmed by B. Riley Financial from $516.00 to $413.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the communications equipment provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ciena from $405.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $615.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Ciena from $320.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Zacks Research cut Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $521.22.

Ciena Price Performance

Ciena stock opened at $354.63 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $410.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $438.04. Ciena has a 1 year low of $92.46 and a 1 year high of $637.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.73.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ciena will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In other news, CFO Marc D. Graff sold 4,995 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.72, for a total value of $2,151,446.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 107,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,310,583.68. This trade represents a 4.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $362.90, for a total transaction of $1,071,280.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 243,078 shares in the company, valued at $88,213,006.20. The trade was a 1.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 25,422 shares of company stock worth $11,038,802 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ciena

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CIEN. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Ciena by 49,854.1% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 104,748,296 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $51,385,324,000 after purchasing an additional 104,538,607 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,747,810,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Ciena by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,102,409 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,193,300,000 after purchasing an additional 750,128 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 53.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,051,625 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $947,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 10.4% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,495,795 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $284,313,000 after purchasing an additional 329,821 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ciena this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are watching for continued strong AI-related networking demand. Ciena’s previous quarter showed revenue growth of 39.5% year over year and earnings that exceeded consensus estimates, creating the possibility of another upside surprise if management raises its outlook. Ciena earnings preview: AI networking demand in focus
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage coverage remains constructive overall, with Ciena receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” recommendation. Another analysis said the stock may still trade below estimated fair value despite its substantial prior rally, suggesting potential upside if earnings support the company’s growth story. Ciena receives consensus Moderate Buy recommendation Ciena stock trades below fair value
• Neutral Sentiment: Options markets imply an unusually large potential move around earnings, indicating elevated volatility and a high-stakes event for shareholders. Ciena options volatility ahead of earnings
• Negative Sentiment: B. Riley lowered its price target to $413, reflecting more cautious expectations even though the target remains above the recent trading level. Analysts have also been cutting targets ahead of the report, raising concern that expectations or valuation may be too high. B. Riley lowers Ciena price target Ciena stock falls ahead of third-quarter earnings
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares worth approximately $1.07 million. The transaction was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which reduces its significance as a discretionary bearish signal, but it still adds modest selling pressure. Ciena CEO Form 4 filing

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.