CIEN Wins Acquisition of NT’s MEN Assets

Analysts at Citi Investment Research & Analysis maintain their “buy” rating on Ciena Corp (NASDAQ: CIEN). The target price for CIEN is set to $18.50.

Ciena’s share price has declined substantially, following the company’s successful bid to acquire Nortel’s Metro Ethernet Networks (MEN) assets. The deal is expected to close during 1Q10. According to Citi Investment Research & Analysis, the acquisition comes at the right time, with the right price and the right assets. Those with a long-term investment horizon may use the current weakness to build positions in CIEN’s stock, the analysts add.

Ciena is likely to post healthy results for 4Q09. Moreover, the company is expected to generate solid results in 2010, driven by an improving carrier spending environment. The higher borrowing and integration risks are already priced into CIEN’s stock, Citi Investment Research & Analysis says.