Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Trading 8.9% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN)’s stock price rose 8.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $293.81 and last traded at $295.5180. Approximately 1,370,898 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 3,783,704 shares. The stock had previously closed at $271.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CIEN. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $175.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ciena in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $138.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Argus upped their price target on Ciena from $135.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Ciena to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $241.67.

Ciena Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.73. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $239.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 349.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Insider Activity at Ciena

In other Ciena news, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 11,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.82, for a total value of $2,741,522.78. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 49,475 shares in the company, valued at $11,370,344.50. This represents a 19.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas Michael Nevens sold 8,554 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.66, for a total transaction of $1,921,741.64. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,116,746.52. The trade was a 47.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 157,242 shares of company stock worth $36,341,766 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ciena

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in Ciena in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Ciena by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Ciena by 104.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.