Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $272.10, but opened at $295.22. Ciena shares last traded at $293.15, with a volume of 614,712 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ciena in a report on Friday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 25th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $520.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective (down from $660.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $485.93.

Ciena Stock Down 0.4%

The company has a market cap of $41.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 3.17, a current ratio of 3.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The business’s 50 day moving average is $343.81 and its 200 day moving average is $403.58.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.38. Ciena had a return on equity of 25.33% and a net margin of 10.87%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. Ciena’s revenue was up 37.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 6.00 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Ciena news, EVP Jason Phipps sold 2,629 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.19, for a total value of $933,794.51. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 57,388 shares in the company, valued at $20,383,643.72. The trade was a 4.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Brodie Gage sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.08, for a total transaction of $412,896.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 34,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,723,837.84. This represents a 3.40% 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 sold a total of 31,019 shares of company stock worth $11,065,093 over the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Buckland Partners Management Co LLC purchased a new position in Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at $211,000. Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in Ciena during the 3rd quarter worth $235,000. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 12.8% during the third quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 951 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the third quarter worth $7,658,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Ciena by 45.3% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,992 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,053,000 after buying an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Company Profile

Ciena is a communications networking company that develops equipment, software and services used to build and manage telecommunications networks. Its offerings support the movement of data across fiber-optic, subsea and other network infrastructure. The company’s products include optical transport systems, routing and switching equipment, and software for network automation and management. Ciena also provides consulting, implementation and support services to help customers plan, deploy and operate their networks.