Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Trading 6.7% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) were up 6.7% on Friday . The company traded as high as $339.56 and last traded at $339.6410. Approximately 947,978 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 3,561,027 shares. The stock had previously closed at $318.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CIEN shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ciena from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 21st. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Ciena from $175.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Friday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $247.67.

Ciena Stock Up 5.1%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $250.80 and a 200-day moving average of $186.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The company has a market cap of $47.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 393.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.13.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. Ciena had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 2.59%.The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 21,383 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.89, for a total value of $5,300,631.87. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 91,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,747,625.85. This represents a 18.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 83,552 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.44, for a total transaction of $19,170,170.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 307,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,641,134.40. This represents a 21.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 160,083 shares of company stock worth $37,204,740. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ciena in the first quarter worth $395,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Ciena by 139.6% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,253 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 3,061 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ciena by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 222,054 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,117 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Ciena by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,762 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ciena during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $280,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

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.