Ciena’s (CIEN) “Neutral” Rating Reiterated at Bank of America

Bank of America reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Bank of America currently has a $260.00 price target on the communications equipment provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. B. Riley reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $213.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ciena from $120.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $190.00 price target on shares of Ciena and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ciena has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $241.67.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CIEN opened at $229.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 270.38, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.13. Ciena has a one year low of $49.21 and a one year high of $261.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $220.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $160.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Ciena had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The business’s revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ciena will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In related news, Director Thomas Michael Nevens sold 8,554 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.66, for a total value of $1,921,741.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,116,746.52. This trade represents a 47.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 21,383 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.89, for a total value of $5,300,631.87. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 91,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,747,625.85. This represents a 18.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 167,890 shares of company stock valued at $38,277,035 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ciena

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CIEN. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 1st quarter valued at $395,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Ciena by 139.6% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,253 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 3,061 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ciena by 1.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 222,054 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,419,000 after buying an additional 3,117 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Ciena by 14.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,762 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in Ciena during the second quarter worth about $513,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Ciena

Here are the key news stories impacting Ciena this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target to $280 and kept a “buy” rating, signaling material upside vs. recent levels and providing a near-term bullish catalyst. Stifel raises CIEN target
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted CIEN as a top momentum/growth pick (Rank #1 / Strong Buy), which can attract momentum-driven retail and quant flows. Zacks: CIEN momentum pick
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America published a Neutral rating on CIEN (coverage note), which limits downside but does not provide a clear buy signal for investors looking for conviction. BofA Neutral on CIEN
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader hedge-fund and media coverage has increased visibility for CIEN, but recent roundups do not show a material, coordinated position change. Hedge fund roundup mentioning CIEN
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling: SVP Jason Phipps sold 21,383 shares (~$5.3M) and CEO Gary Smith sold 2,993 shares (~$741k) in mid‑January — large insider disposals can spook short‑term traders despite executives retaining large stakes. Phipps sells CIEN CEO sells CIEN
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America flagged rising AI‑spending risk for networking names and cut/downgraded tone on CIEN, raising near‑term growth and spending concerns for some investors. BofA: AI spending risks

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.