Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold”

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Ciena from $350.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ciena from $405.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on Ciena in a research report on Friday, May 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $416.00 target price on the stock. Argus set a $650.00 price target on Ciena in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $450.00 target price on Ciena in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $530.56.

Ciena Price Performance

Shares of CIEN opened at $411.04 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $449.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $417.02. The firm has a market cap of $58.18 billion, a PE ratio of 137.01 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ciena has a 1-year low of $84.41 and a 1-year high of $637.51.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Ciena had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 7.87%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ciena will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other Ciena news, CFO Marc D. Graff sold 126 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total transaction of $58,741.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 126,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,186,421. The trade was a 0.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 2,629 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total value of $1,225,639.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 62,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,082,488.40. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. 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 21,627 shares of company stock worth $10,508,776 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ciena in the 1st quarter valued at about $395,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 139.6% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,253 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 3,061 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Ciena by 1.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 222,054 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,419,000 after buying an additional 3,117 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of Ciena by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,762 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena in the second quarter valued at $234,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.99% of the company’s stock.

About Ciena

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.