Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $221.85, but opened at $236.35. Ciena shares last traded at $231.3330, with a volume of 3,246,580 shares.

The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 2.59%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on CIEN shares. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Ciena from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, October 13th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Ciena to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ciena from $138.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.38.

Insider Activity at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.36, for a total value of $59,276.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 40,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,884,992.08. This represents a 0.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.14, for a total value of $262,943.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,143,965.34. This trade represents a 4.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 51,935 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,266. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ciena

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CIEN. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Ciena by 94.3% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,395 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 93.1% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 977 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Ciena by 80.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,635 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $967,000 after purchasing an additional 2,954 shares during the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Ciena during the third quarter worth approximately $458,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Ciena during the third quarter worth approximately $157,000. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ciena Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $30.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 257.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.51.

Ciena Company Profile

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.