Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) gained ground first thing Tuesday following an upgrade to strong buy from outperform by Oppenheimer, which cited Ciena’s entry in the edge router market as a catalyst.
As well, Raymond James upgraded the network equipment company, citing its position in the edge router market as a catalyst.
Analyst Simon Leopold moved his rating on Ciena shares to strong buy from outperform, noting the push into the market, led by the company's WaveRouter product, should expand the company's total addressable market by roughly $8B. In addition, it should also help Ciena's growth and boost its margins.
“Ciena retains its leadership in optics and stands to benefit from market expansion and Huawei displacements," Leopold wrote in an investor note.
In conjunction with the upgrade, Leopold raised his per-share price target on Ciena to $70.
Earlier this month, Ciena reported strong first-quarter results, handily exceeding analysts' consensus and sending the stock soaring as a result .
Ciena reported revenue of $1.06 billion as compared to $844.4 million for the fiscal first quarter 2022.
Ciena's GAAP net income for the fiscal first quarter 2023 was $76.2 million, or $0.51 per diluted common share, which compares to a GAAP net income of $45.8 million, or $0.29 per diluted common share, for the fiscal first quarter 2022.
CIEN shares picked up $3.52, or 7.2%, to $52.13.
