Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $269.90 and last traded at $254.7560, with a volume of 362512 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $253.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $240.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Ciena from $175.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ciena from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $241.67.

Ciena Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $35.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 295.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50 day moving average is $226.19 and its 200-day moving average is $165.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. Ciena’s quarterly revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In other news, Director Thomas Michael Nevens sold 8,554 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 9,422 shares in the company, valued at $2,116,746.52. This trade represents a 47.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 83,552 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.44, for a total value of $19,170,170.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 307,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,641,134.40. This represents a 21.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 167,890 shares of company stock worth $38,277,035 over the last quarter. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ciena

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Ciena during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Ciena in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other 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.