---
title: Ciena (CIEN) — intrinsic value and fair price
canonical: https://sweetvaluelab.com/stocks/cien
ticker: CIEN
as_of: 2026-10-17
sector: Technology
industry: Communication Equipment
---
# Ciena (CIEN)

Ciena (CIEN) closed at $332.73 on Oct 16, 2026, overvalued by 1480% vs its model value of $21.05 (from a five-year discounted cash flow).

## Key figures

| Figure | Value |
| --- | ---: |
| Last close | $332.73 (Oct 16, 2026) |
| Model value (from a five-year discounted cash flow) | $21.05 |
| Price vs model | overvalued by 1480% vs model |
| Range of that model | $10.67 – $46.47 |
| Market value | $47.2B |
| P/E (fiscal 2025) | 391.4 |
| Net margin (fiscal 2025) | 2.6% |
| Free cash flow (fiscal 2025) | $665.3M |
| Dividend yield (trailing twelve months) | 0.00% |
| Beta | 1.29 |
| Cost of capital (WACC) | 9.86% |
| Business classification | Cyclical (Low/slowing growth (~4% recent), Thin margins (2.6% net margin), Highly cyclical earnings) |

## Valuation models

Each model's value per share and the role the engine gave it for this business. The headline above is one model's value; every other model is listed with its own, and each has a page of its own under the valuation. Computed Oct 17, 2026.

| Model | Role | Value per share | Low | High |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| DCF · Perpetuity growth · 5y | primary | $21.05 | $10.67 | $46.47 |
| DCF · Perpetuity growth · 10y | cross check | $35.64 | $17.30 | $81.93 |
| DCF · EBITDA exit · 5y | cross check | $146.40 | $113.33 | $184.96 |
| DCF · EBITDA exit · 10y | cross check | $207.41 | $146.30 | $287.62 |
| P/E · peers | cross check | $91.18 | $91.18 | $91.18 |
| P/E · own history | cross check | $180.41 | $107.41 | $619.95 |
| PEG | sanity check | $179.13 | $179.13 | $179.13 |
| EV/EBITDA · peers | cross check | $67.03 | $67.03 | $67.03 |
| EV/Revenue · peers | cross check | $256.00 | $256.00 | $256.00 |
| Earnings power value | cross check | $9.21 | $7.59 | $11.41 |
| Dividend discount | cross check | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |

## Insider activity (SEC Form 4)

Past 90 days: 0 open-market buys ($0) and 7 open-market sales ($5.7M); 10b5-1 plan sales included.

| Date | Insider | Relationship | Transaction | Shares | Value |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | ---: | ---: |
| Oct 1, 2026 | SMITH GARY B | President & CEO | Open-market sell (10b5-1 plan) | 2,952 | $1.1M |
| Oct 1, 2026 | Graff Marc D. | EVP & Chief Financial Officer | Open-market sell (10b5-1 plan) | 97 | $34,453.4 |
| Oct 1, 2026 | Kosaraju Sheela | EVP & Chief Legal Officer | Open-market sell (10b5-1 plan) | 2,101 | $746,254.2 |
| Oct 1, 2026 | Phipps Jason | EVP & Chief Customer Officer | Open-market sell (10b5-1 plan) | 2,629 | $933,794.5 |
| Sep 25, 2026 | Cumello Joseph | EVP & General Mgr. | Open-market sell (10b5-1 plan) | 1,586 | $568,604.9 |

## Recent SEC filings

| Filed | Form | What | Filing |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sep 3, 2026 | 10-Q | Quarterly report | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/936395/000162828026060361/cien-20260801.htm |
| Sep 3, 2026 | 8-K | 2.02 Results of Operations (Earnings); 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/936395/000162828026060245/cien-20260903.htm |
| Jun 11, 2026 | 8-K | 1.01 Entry into a Material Agreement; 2.03 Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation; 3.02 Unregistered Sale of Equity; 8.01 Other Events; 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/936395/000119312526267607/d118604d8k.htm |
| Jun 8, 2026 | 8-K | 8.01 Other Events; 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/936395/000119312526260665/d125730d8k.htm |
| Jun 4, 2026 | 10-Q | Quarterly report | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/936395/000162828026040767/cien-20260502.htm |

## Superinvestors holding it (latest 13F)

| Manager | Quarter | Shares | Value |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: |
| Bridgewater | 2026-06-30 | 101,038 | $49.6M |
| Mairs & Power | 2026-06-30 | 2,800 | $1.4M |
| First Eagle | 2026-06-30 | 2,000 | $981,120 |

3 tracked managers in all.

## About

Ciena Corporation is a global technology company focused on telecommunications infrastructure. It delivers integrated solutions – including specialized hardware, software applications, and professional services – designed to facilitate the efficient transmission, routing, switching, aggregation, delivery, and overall management of video, data, and voice traffic across communication networks worldwide. Within its Networking Platforms division, Ciena develops and supplies advanced hardware and integrated solutions. These products are specifically engineered to optimize the convergence of various optical transport methods (like coherent optical transport and optical transport network switching) with packet switching, enabling high-performance data handling. The product portfolio spans a range of packet-optical platforms (e.g., the 6500, 5400, and Z-Series), reconfigurable switching systems…

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Source: https://sweetvaluelab.com/stocks/cien (SweetValueLab, free, no account). Prices and statements from Financial Modeling Prep; filings from SEC EDGAR. Research and educational data, not investment advice; nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security.