Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Shares Up 4.4% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN) rose 4.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $62.74 and last traded at $64.23. Approximately 89,440 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 1,962,454 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 price target (down from $97.00) on shares of Ciena in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price (up from $75.00) on shares of Ciena in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Ciena from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ciena presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.38.

Ciena Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $9.30 billion, a PE ratio of 114.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $77.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a current ratio of 3.55.

Insider Transactions at Ciena

In related news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 13,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.66, for a total value of $1,137,776.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 425,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,618,161.34. The trade was a 3.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 5,648 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.64, for a total value of $478,046.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 109,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,300,073.92. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,560 shares of company stock valued at $5,406,323. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ciena

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Ciena by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 640 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. 111 Capital purchased a new position in shares of Ciena in the fourth quarter valued at about $428,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Ciena during the fourth quarter valued at about $106,000. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ciena during the fourth quarter worth about $259,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ciena in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.