Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Upgraded at Rothschild & Co Redburn

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) was upgraded by research analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn to a “hold” rating in a report released on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Ciena from $280.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Evercore set a $330.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $222.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ciena has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $358.94.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of CIEN stock opened at $536.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $75.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 341.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.81. Ciena has a 52 week low of $70.67 and a 52 week high of $550.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $414.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $289.45.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.18. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ciena will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total transaction of $1,226,585.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 281,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,909,971.15. This represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total value of $9,021,337.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 68 shares in the company, valued at $27,866.40. This represents a 99.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days, insiders have sold 42,974 shares of company stock valued at $16,615,505. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ciena

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the 4th quarter worth $2,747,810,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,462,840 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $941,451,000 after buying an additional 1,219,787 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,102,409 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,193,300,000 after buying an additional 750,128 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,051,625 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $947,554,000 after buying an additional 1,404,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,495,795 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $284,313,000 after buying an additional 329,821 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Ciena

Here are the key news stories impacting Ciena this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/industry bullishness: Seeking Alpha highlights a surging backlog (now ~$7B) and accelerating backlog-to-cash conversion that supports revenue and cash-flow growth, arguing CIEN is well positioned for hyperscaler AI demand. Ciena Corp.: Buy As Backlog To Cash Is Rolling
• Positive Sentiment: Sector buy call: Zacks includes CIEN among communication-component stocks to tap the rally from 5G, fiber and AI tailwinds, reinforcing investor interest in the group. Buy 2 Communication Component Stocks to Tap Recent Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment and momentum: Broker consensus is around “Moderate Buy” and the stock recently hit a record high on the NYSE Composite, signaling strong market momentum and institutional interest. Ciena Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” Ciena Hits Record High
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer/company-news signal: Coverage of Lumentum’s upcoming Q3 frames broad industry demand for optics and AI-driven revenue growth — a positive sector signal for Ciena but not direct company news. Lumentum Q3 Earnings Loom
• Neutral Sentiment: ETF/flow context: Mentions of CIEN in mid-cap/smart-beta ETF coverage may support passive demand but are a secondary factor vs. direct earnings/backlog news. Is FNX a Strong ETF Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Celebrity pundit caution: Jim Cramer publicly said CIEN is “a little too hot” and that he’d “hold off,” which can sap conviction among retail traders and short-term momentum despite strong fundamentals. Jim Cramer on Ciena Jim Cramer on Ciena: “I’m Going to Have to Hold Off”

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.