Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $65.56, but opened at $69.08. Ciena shares last traded at $67.85, with a volume of 79,497 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Ciena from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price objective on Ciena from $94.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 target price (down previously from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ciena from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $84.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.38.

Ciena Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business’s fifty day moving average is $80.04 and its 200 day moving average is $73.98. The company has a market cap of $9.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 121.46, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.91, for a total transaction of $30,068.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,256,582.77. The trade was a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Dino Diperna sold 2,682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.64, for a total value of $235,050.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,435,197.48. The trade was a 5.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,742 shares of company stock worth $5,469,173 over the last ninety days. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ciena

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ciena by 108.6% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Ciena by 925.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 328 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ciena by 328.2% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 364 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 73.7% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 356 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ciena by 77.2% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 420 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

About Ciena

Ciena Corporation provides hardware and software services for delivery of video, data, and voice traffic metro, aggregation, and access communications network worldwide. The company’s Networking Platforms segment offers convergence of coherent optical transport, open optical networking, optical transport network switching, IP routing, and switching services.