Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $77.62.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CIEN. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Ciena from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Ciena from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 price objective (down previously from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Ciena from $88.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Ciena from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th.

Ciena Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE CIEN opened at $81.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 142.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.11. Ciena has a 52-week low of $44.69 and a 52-week high of $101.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a current ratio of 3.55. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $65.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.16, for a total value of $31,556.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,197 shares in the company, valued at $4,435,601.52. This represents a 0.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP David M. Rothenstein sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.93, for a total transaction of $199,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 202,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,175,434.10. The trade was a 1.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,138 shares of company stock worth $3,439,211. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ciena

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ciena by 108.6% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ciena by 328.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 364 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ciena by 73.7% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 356 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Ciena by 77.2% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 420 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Ciena by 34.7% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 636 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. 91.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ciena Company Profile

Ciena Corporation provides hardware and software services for delivery of video, data, and voice traffic metro, aggregation, and access communications network worldwide. The company’s Networking Platforms segment offers convergence of coherent optical transport, open optical networking, optical transport network switching, IP routing, and switching services.