Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $309.59 and last traded at $309.6710, with a volume of 113381 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $302.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ciena in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ciena from $138.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Evercore set a $330.00 price target on Ciena in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $247.67.

Ciena Trading Up 5.1%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $253.11 and a 200 day moving average of $188.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The company has a market cap of $47.36 billion, a PE ratio of 393.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.13.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 2.59%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. Analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas Michael Nevens sold 8,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 9,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,116,746.52. This represents a 47.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 21,383 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.89, for a total value of $5,300,631.87. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 91,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,747,625.85. The trade was a 18.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 160,083 shares of company stock worth $37,204,740 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in Ciena in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ciena by 71.0% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Ciena during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Ciena by 50.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Ciena by 104.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.