Key Points
- Insider selling: Director Patrick Gallagher sold 11,618 shares at an average $227.45 (~$2.64M), cutting his stake ~18.8%, and SVP Joseph Cumello also sold 11,929 shares (~$2.74M), moves that may temper investor sentiment.
- Strong fundamentals and bullish analyst views: Ciena beat Q4 EPS ($0.91 vs. $0.76) and revenue ($1.35B, +20.1% YoY), and several firms raised price targets (e.g., Rosenblatt $305, Needham/Citigroup $280) as AI/datacenter demand supports the outlook.
Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) Director Patrick Gallagher sold 11,618 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.45, for a total value of $2,642,514.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,184 shares in the company, valued at $11,414,350.80. The trade was a 18.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.
Ciena Price Performance
Ciena stock opened at $246.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 289.74, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50-day moving average of $215.38 and a 200-day moving average of $153.46. Ciena Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.21 and a 1 year high of $261.13.
Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. Ciena had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. Ciena's quarterly revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ciena Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.
Institutional Trading of Ciena
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CIEN. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Ciena by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 710 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Ciena by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ciena by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,772 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $695,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ciena by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,475 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $943,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.99% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
CIEN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Ciena to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Ciena from $175.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ciena from $120.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ciena to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Ciena from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.50.
Read Our Latest Research Report on CIEN
Key Headlines Impacting Ciena
Here are the key news stories impacting Ciena this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst/sector thesis — A Seeking Alpha deep dive expects Ciena’s "Optical AI" program to drive meaningful wins in 2026, with management modeling FY26 revenue growth of ~23.7% to $5.9B, a ~ $5B backlog, and expanding gross and operating margins — bullish for revenue and margin outlooks. Expect Ciena's Optical AI Program Wins To Surge In 2026
- Positive Sentiment: Market narrative — Another Seeking Alpha piece frames the AI/datacenter connectivity boom as "in full swing," reinforcing demand tailwinds for Ciena’s optical networking products. Ciena: Connectivity AI/Datacenter Boom In Full Swing
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst recognition — Zacks added CIEN to its Rank #1 (Strong Buy) growth list, which can attract momentum flows and boosts investor confidence. Best Growth Stocks to Buy for Jan. 13
- Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings momentum — Media coverage notes Ciena’s strong Q4 results (beat on EPS and revenue) and the company's central role supplying hardware for AI systems, a key reason investors have pushed the stock higher. Why Ciena Stock Rocked the Market in December
- Neutral Sentiment: Investor presentation — Ciena presented at the Needham Growth Conference; transcripts can provide incremental color on wins and guidance but contain no new headline items yet. Ciena Presents at 28th Annual Needham Growth Conference Transcript
- Neutral Sentiment: Industry/competitive data — A broader competitive analysis report was published (background benchmarking); useful for longer‑term positioning but not an immediate catalyst. Ciena Corp Competitive Analysis Report 2025
- Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — SVP Joseph Cumello sold 11,929 shares at an average $229.82 (≈$2.74M), reducing his stake by ~19.4%; insider sales can be perceived negatively by investors. Insider Sale Filing (Cumello)
- Negative Sentiment: Director sale — Director Patrick Gallagher sold 11,618 shares at ~$227.45 (~$2.64M), an ~18.8% reduction in his position, which may temper sentiment despite positive fundamentals. Insider Sale Filing (Gallagher)
- Negative Sentiment: Critical review — A third‑party critique highlights risks/valuation concerns that some investors may weigh against the upbeat demand narrative. Critical Review: Ciena & Altice USA
About Ciena
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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