UPDATE: National Alliance Initiates Coverage on CIENA

In a note released Tuesday, National Alliance initiated coverage on CIENA (NASDAQ: CIEN) with a Buy rating and announced a $27 price target.

National Alliance analyst Brian Coyne noted that the rating of CIENA is based on "market leadership" and "strong earnings growth potential".

More specifically, Coyne expects strong performance from CIENA's 6500 and 5430 platforms as major players, AT&T and Verizon, along with other carriers continue their multi-year optical upgrade cycle. In addition to this, Coyne notes CIENA's partnership with Ericsson and other international investments have lowered the company's business risk by diversifying its revenue base.