Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Sets New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $95.27 and last traded at $94.82, with a volume of 3401911 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $88.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Ciena from $75.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley cut Ciena from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $63.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ciena from $67.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Ciena in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Ciena from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.00.

Ciena Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $13.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 172.70, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a current ratio of 3.55. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $80.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.58.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.12). Ciena had a return on equity of 4.72% and a net margin of 2.09%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ciena Co. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Ciena announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the communications equipment provider to purchase up to 10.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.91, for a total transaction of $30,068.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,547 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,256,582.77. The trade was a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Joseph Cumello sold 1,289 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.99, for a total transaction of $88,928.11. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,486 shares in the company, valued at $2,724,139.14. This represents a 3.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,781 shares of company stock valued at $4,298,500 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CIEN. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 925.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 328 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new stake in Ciena in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Ciena by 424.4% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 451 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ciena in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 152.8% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 847 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the period. 91.99% of the stock is currently owned by 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.