Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Ciena Co. (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $65.56, but opened at $69.08. Ciena shares last traded at $67.85, with a volume of 79,497 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on CIEN shares. Bank of America raised shares of Ciena from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup raised their price target on Ciena from $84.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price objective on shares of Ciena from $94.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Ciena in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Ciena from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.38.

Ciena Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a PE ratio of 108.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $79.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.85.

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Insider Activity at Ciena

In other news, SVP David M. Rothenstein sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.88, for a total value of $172,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 207,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,283,645.60. This represents a 1.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brodie Gage sold 350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.16, for a total transaction of $31,556.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,435,601.52. This represents a 0.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,560 shares of company stock worth $5,406,323. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ciena

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CIEN. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ciena by 108.6% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Ciena by 925.0% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ciena by 328.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 364 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ciena by 73.7% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 356 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ciena by 77.2% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 420 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

About Ciena

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.