Stifel Nicolaus Raises PT on Ciena Corporation (CIEN), Maintains a Buy

​Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) is one of the High-Flying Tech Stocks to Buy. On January 22, Ruben Roy from Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a Buy rating on the stock and raised the price target from $270 to $280. However, earlier on January 20, Tal Liani from Bank of America Securities downgraded Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) from Buy to Hold with a $260 price target.

​Stifel Nicolaus noted that the increased price target is based on the expectation of a “step-function increase in networking intensity.” This expectation is based on the rise of agentic AI and reasoning networks, which means that networks will need more power as data becomes complex and drives massive traffic in the coming years. The firm added that previously, networking tech standards took years to develop. However, now the cycles are speeding up. As a result, the firm expects AI networking to continue growing steadily while computing power explodes even faster, thereby driving demand.

​On the other hand, Bank of America Securities sees significant challenges for Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) related to its valuation and core business. The firm added that the company faces challenges, including high valuation, risk of slower backlog growth, and weaker spending as network providers wait for the demand to increase.

​On the bright side, BofA acknowledged the solid deployment plans from cloud and neocloud leaders, signaling ongoing networking equipment demand. However, the firm remains cautious with a Hold rating.

​Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) is a network technology company that provides hardware, software, and services for various network operators in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Japan, and India.

While we acknowledge the potential of CIEN as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.