Brokerages Set Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) PT at $77.62

Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $77.62.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CIEN shares. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays set a $100.00 price target on Ciena and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Northland Securities upgraded Ciena from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 price target (down from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Ciena from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ciena news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.16, for a total transaction of $31,556.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 49,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,435,601.52. This represents a 0.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 6,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.54, for a total value of $404,872.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 375,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,367,987.20. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,288 shares of company stock valued at $3,211,852. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ciena

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at about $245,000. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,459 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $887,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at about $421,000. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena in the 4th quarter valued at about $755,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Ciena by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 38,350 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,252,000 after purchasing an additional 5,684 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Stock Up 5.8%

NYSE CIEN opened at $79.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a PE ratio of 138.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.11. Ciena has a one year low of $44.69 and a one year high of $101.44. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.72.

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.