Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Stock Jumps 3.3% – Here’s Why

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) shares shot up 3.3% during trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $395.96 and last traded at $391.8090. 2,516,000 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average session volume of 2,865,771 shares. The stock had previously closed at $379.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on CIEN. B. Riley Financial cut their target price on Ciena from $516.00 to $413.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 31st. CL King set a $347.00 price target on Ciena in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Ciena in a report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $440.00 price target for the company. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ciena in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ciena from $635.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.05.

Ciena Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a current ratio of 3.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $372.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $440.45. The stock has a market cap of $55.56 billion, a PE ratio of 87.46, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.29.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 37.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Ciena Corporation will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.52, for a total value of $568,612.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,186,636.40. The trade was a 3.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bruce L. Claflin sold 2,857 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.91, for a total value of $1,016,834.87. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,946,578.89. The trade was a 25.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,184 shares of company stock valued at $9,957,835. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Andra AP fonden increased its stake in Ciena by 250.6% during the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 35,899 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $17,611,000 after buying an additional 25,660 shares during the period. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC boosted its position in Ciena by 22.6% in the 2nd quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC now owns 981 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. IPG Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the second quarter worth $312,000. Gemmer Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the second quarter worth $3,280,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the second quarter worth $14,835,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

About Ciena

Ciena Corporation is a networking technology company that provides communications infrastructure, software and services for telecommunications providers, cloud operators, enterprises, governments and research institutions. Its solutions are designed to help organizations build, manage and automate high-capacity networks that support applications such as cloud computing, broadband connectivity, data center interconnection and 5G services.

The company’s portfolio includes optical networking systems and coherent optical technologies, routing and switching platforms, broadband access solutions, network management software and professional services.