Ciena (NYSE:CIEN – Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Zacks reports.
A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on CIEN. Stifel Nicolaus set a $615.00 price target on Ciena in a report on Friday, May 29th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Ciena from $575.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on shares of Ciena from $720.00 to $525.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 4th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Ciena from $600.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, B. Riley Financial lowered their price target on shares of Ciena from $516.00 to $413.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $475.68.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Ciena
Ciena Stock Performance
Ciena (NYSE:CIEN – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 25.33% and a net margin of 10.87%.The company’s revenue was up 37.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ciena will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Activity at Ciena
In other news, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,629 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total transaction of $1,225,639.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 62,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,082,488.40. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.33, for a total value of $739,599.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,992,499.76. The trade was a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 25,422 shares of company stock valued at $11,038,802 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena
Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ciena by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 445,359 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $104,156,000 after acquiring an additional 155,712 shares in the last quarter. TKG Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ciena in the first quarter valued at $3,244,000. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Ciena by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 413,332 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $160,468,000 after purchasing an additional 26,900 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS grew its stake in Ciena by 1,095.8% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 27,527 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $6,438,000 after purchasing an additional 25,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda purchased a new stake in Ciena during the 1st quarter worth about $10,883,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company’s stock.
Key Stories Impacting Ciena
Here are the key news stories impacting Ciena this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Northland Securities raised its earnings forecasts and maintained an Outperform rating. The firm increased its Q4 2026 EPS estimate to $1.83 from $1.51, FY2026 EPS to $6.05 from $5.39, and FY2027 EPS to $10.98 from $9.35. Its $500 price target implies substantial upside and reflects confidence in Ciena’s earnings growth. Northland Securities earnings estimates and price target
- Positive Sentiment: Ciena’s backlog and data-center exposure support the growth case. Its backlog is expected to exceed $10 billion by the end of fiscal 2026, while demand for optical networking and data-center interconnection remains strong. Spark’s launch of a dedicated data-center interconnect service using Ciena technology provides another commercial validation of this demand. Ciena backlog and supply constraints Spark launches data-center interconnect service with Ciena
- Neutral Sentiment: Analysts project accelerating earnings through fiscal 2027. Northland estimates quarterly EPS rising from $2.15 in Q1 2027 to $3.41 in Q4 2027, substantially above the roughly $5.43 consensus estimate for the current year. These forecasts are supportive, but they depend on timely backlog conversion and continued demand. Northland Securities future earnings estimates
- Negative Sentiment: Supply constraints could delay revenue recognition. Although the backlog is growing, shortages or delivery bottlenecks may prevent Ciena from converting orders into revenue quickly, creating uncertainty around near-term results. The stock’s high earnings multiple also leaves less room for disappointment if growth is delayed. Can Ciena convert its backlog despite supply constraints?
Ciena Company Profile
Ciena Corporation (NYSE: CIEN) is a networking technology company that provides hardware, software and services for communications networks. Its solutions help service providers, cloud companies, enterprises and government organizations build, manage and automate high-capacity networks that support broadband, cloud computing, data center interconnection and other digital services.
The company’s product portfolio includes optical networking systems, coherent optical technology, routers, switches, network control and automation software, and network management tools.
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