Ciena’s (CIEN) Buy Rating Reiterated at Rosenblatt Securities

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Rosenblatt Securities in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $720.00 price objective on the communications equipment provider’s stock. Rosenblatt Securities’ target price points to a potential upside of 81.39% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on CIEN. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $283.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Ciena from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on Ciena in a research note on Friday, May 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $416.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on Ciena from $345.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ciena from $405.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ciena has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $527.78.

Ciena Price Performance

NYSE CIEN opened at $396.94 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $56.19 billion, a PE ratio of 132.31 and a beta of 1.30. Ciena has a 52 week low of $87.25 and a 52 week high of $637.51. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $420.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $432.35.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total value of $1,225,639.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 62,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,082,488.40. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.02, for a total transaction of $1,349,123.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 266,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $121,843,817.10. The trade was a 1.10% 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 25,422 shares of company stock worth $11,638,117. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ciena

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CIEN. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ciena during the first quarter valued at about $395,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Ciena by 139.6% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,253 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 3,061 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Ciena by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 222,054 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $13,419,000 after buying an additional 3,117 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Ciena by 14.6% in the 1st 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, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in Ciena in the second quarter worth approximately $234,000. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

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.