Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Price Target Raised to $548.00

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) had its price target upped by Barclays from $475.00 to $548.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the communications equipment provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Evercore set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Ciena from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ciena has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $483.47.

Ciena Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:CIEN opened at $348.46 on Thursday. Ciena has a 1 year low of $133.67 and a 1 year high of $637.51. The company has a market cap of $49.42 billion, a PE ratio of 77.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 3.80 and a quick ratio of 3.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $381.17 and its 200 day moving average is $437.79.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 25.33% and a net margin of 10.87%.The business’s revenue was up 37.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ciena will post 6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,629 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total value of $1,225,639.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 62,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,082,488.40. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Marc D. Graff sold 4,995 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.72, for a total value of $2,151,446.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 107,519 shares in the company, valued at $46,310,583.68. The trade was a 4.44% decrease in their position. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,422 shares of company stock valued at $10,494,882. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 30,114.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,870,677 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $671,365,000 after acquiring an additional 2,861,176 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,687,437 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $627,567,000 after acquiring an additional 145,948 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Ciena by 95.6% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,236,835 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $523,129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092,980 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Ciena by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,868,881 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $437,075,000 after purchasing an additional 31,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Ciena in the 2nd quarter worth about $404,948,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Ciena News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ciena this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts reacted favorably to Ciena’s long-term growth targets. Barclays raised its price target to $548 and maintained an overweight rating, while Morgan Stanley lifted its target to $450. Needham and Rosenblatt reaffirmed bullish ratings with targets of $520 and $525, respectively. Ciena’s 2029 Outlook Draws Positive Analyst Reactions
• Positive Sentiment: Investors were encouraged by expectations for continued market-share gains, strong orders and an expanding backlog. Ciena’s technology position in optical networking could allow it to benefit from sustained AI-related data-center spending. Ciena Expects Continued Market Share Gains
• Positive Sentiment: The outlook builds on recent operating momentum. Ciena’s latest reported quarter included earnings of $2.11 per share versus the $1.73 consensus estimate, revenue of $1.67 billion and 37% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Although analyst targets generally imply additional upside, Morgan Stanley retained an equal-weight rating, and some commentary questioned whether Ciena’s pricing power is durable or partly related to temporary supply constraints. The stock also trades at a relatively demanding valuation, increasing execution risk. Is Ciena’s Pricing Power Real, Or Just a Parts Shortage?
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares for approximately $975,000, while EVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares worth about $390,000. Both transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, limiting their bearish signal, but insider selling may create modest pressure following the rally.

About Ciena

Ciena Corporation (NYSE: CIEN) is a networking technology company that provides hardware, software and services for communications networks. Its solutions help service providers, cloud companies, enterprises and government organizations build, manage and automate high-capacity networks that support broadband, cloud computing, data center interconnection and other digital services.

The company’s product portfolio includes optical networking systems, coherent optical technology, routers, switches, network control and automation software, and network management tools.