Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $358.9444.

CIEN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on Ciena in a report on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $416.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research raised Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays upped their price target on Ciena from $279.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Ciena in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total value of $1,226,585.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 281,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $116,909,971.15. This represents a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.79, for a total value of $566,148.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 45,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,297,072.39. The trade was a 2.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 $16,615,505 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arlington Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ciena in the first quarter worth $405,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 46.0% in the first quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,651 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena in the first quarter worth $374,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 24.1% in the first quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,295 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $891,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 983.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 17,168 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $6,665,000 after acquiring an additional 15,583 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of Ciena stock opened at $536.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $75.83 billion, a PE ratio of 341.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day moving average of $414.44 and a 200 day moving average of $289.45. Ciena has a 52 week low of $70.67 and a 52 week high of $550.00.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last announced its 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. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ciena will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Ciena News Roundup

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.