More Bright Skies Ahead for Ciena

Technology

Published: September 1, 2018 7:10 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 6:31 pm

Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) reacted very favorably to earnings this week, as it turns out that analysts and investors seem like they just can’t get enough of Ciena, given the upgrades and target hikes that were seen. The massive trading volume on the day after the earnings report with the strong gains indicated that it’s much more than just analysts who see clear skies ahead for Ciena.

24/7 Wall St. has pulled a snippet of the available analyst calls and the price target changes that were seen.

In its earnings report, the company said that it had $0.48 in earnings per share (EPS) and $818.8 million in revenue, compared with consensus estimates of $0.35 in EPS and $791.7 million in revenue.

Gary B. Smith, president and CEO of Ciena, commented:

The combination of continued execution against our strategy and robust, broad-based customer demand resulted in outstanding fiscal third quarter performance. With our diversification, global scale and innovation leadership, we remain confident in our business model and our ability to achieve our three-year financial targets.

A few analysts weighed in on Ciena after the results:

Citigroup reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price target to $36 from $29.
Needham reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target price from $29 to $33.
Nomura/Instinet reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $35 from $30.
BMO Capital Markets reiterated it as Outperform and raised its target to $36 from $28.
Macquarie reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its price target to $174 from $157.
Raymond James reiterated it at Strong Buy and raised its target price from $160 to $185.
UBS reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price target to $180 from $168.
Canaccord Genuity reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $165 from $150.
JMP Securities reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price target from $163 to $178.
KeyBanc reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its target price to $180 from $147.

Shares of Ciena traded at $32.10 on Friday, with a consensus analyst price target of $30.79 and a 52-week range of $19.40 to $32.23.