Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.08 EPS

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The communications equipment provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.08), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 4.72% and a net margin of 2.09%. Ciena’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.27 EPS.

Ciena Stock Performance

Shares of CIEN stock traded down $10.87 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $73.02. 11,615,736 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,080,597. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.76. The company has a current ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Ciena has a 52-week low of $44.69 and a 52-week high of $101.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 target price (down previously from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Ciena from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Ciena and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.23.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In related news, SVP David M. Rothenstein sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.88, for a total value of $172,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 207,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,283,645.60. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.67, for a total transaction of $27,534.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 46,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,637,150.11. This trade represents a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 51,788 shares of company stock worth $3,431,319 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Ciena by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,762 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted 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 worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 3,061 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 3,117 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ciena in the 1st quarter worth $395,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by 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.