Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Trading 11.9% Higher – What’s Next?

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) shares traded up 11.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $446.36 and last traded at $433.49. Approximately 3,974,880 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 35% from the average daily volume of 2,953,594 shares. The stock had previously closed at $387.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CIEN shares. Zacks Research cut Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Ciena from $320.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ciena from $372.00 to $607.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, May 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $416.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $530.56.

Ciena Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $61.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 144.50 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $431.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $422.62. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,629 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total value of $1,225,639.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 62,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,082,488.40. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.81, for a total transaction of $1,121,199.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 248,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,565,853.42. This trade represents a 1.17% 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 21,627 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,776 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ciena by 71.0% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in Ciena by 2,100.0% in the 1st quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 88 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Ciena by 57.8% during the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 71 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in Ciena by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 154 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in Ciena by 635.7% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 103 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ciena

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.