Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $593.00 and last traded at $580.3080, with a volume of 2379023 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $548.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CIEN. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Ciena from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Ciena presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $367.56.

Ciena Trading Up 5.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $82.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 369.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $435.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $304.80. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total transaction of $9,021,337.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 68 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,866.40. This trade represents a 99.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $537.74, for a total value of $1,587,408.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,126,398.14. This trade represents a 1.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 42,974 shares of company stock valued at $17,418,863 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CIEN. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ciena by 32.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 17,826 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $6,921,000 after purchasing an additional 4,337 shares during the period. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS bought a new position in Ciena during the first quarter worth about $243,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted its stake in Ciena by 15.7% during the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 13,582 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $5,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden bought a new position in Ciena during the first quarter worth about $3,975,000. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new position in Ciena during the first quarter worth about $245,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.