Analyst Meta Marshall from Morgan Stanley maintained a Sell rating on Ciena and keeping the price target at $70.00.
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Meta Marshall has given his Sell rating due to a combination of factors influencing Ciena’s current market position. Despite Ciena’s stock trading near all-time highs, driven by robust AI data points, Marshall remains cautious about the company’s earnings per share (EPS) growth in the near term. The valuation of Ciena is largely based on multiple expansions, and there is skepticism about the company’s ability to meet elevated EPS expectations, particularly as the market is currently more focused on top-line growth rather than margins.
Marshall anticipates that while there might be a positive reaction to Ciena’s upcoming financial results, especially if there is a revision to their fiscal year 2026 targets, there are concerns about the company’s gross margins. If the gross margins fall below expectations, this could exert negative pressure on the stock. Additionally, the expected revenue growth and EPS for the upcoming quarters are slightly below market consensus, which further supports the Sell rating as the valuation may be challenging to sustain without significant earnings revisions.
According to TipRanks, Marshall is a 4-star analyst with an average return of 5.1% and a 57.39% success rate. Marshall covers the Technology sector, focusing on stocks such as Lumentum Holdings, Arista Networks, and Coherent Corp.