Ciena Stock Eyes Worst Day Since March After Earnings

The shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) are down 6.1% at $47.66 this morning, following the company's fiscal third-quarter earnings report. The company posted profits of 33 cents per share on $868 million in revenue -- both below analysts' estimates. The telecom equipment maker said it saw strong demand from customers, but its quarterly results were hurt by "lower-than-committed volume" from a few component suppliers. 

The security could log its biggest daily drop since March, should these morning losses hold. Ciena stock is down more than 38% in 2022, and now the stock has gapped back down toward its mid-July levels. CIEN had already been breaking down, with a ceiling at the 160-day moving average rejecting the security's rally off its June 16, annual low of $41.63. 

Analysts have yet to chime in, but a round of bear notes could be around the corner, considering 13 of the 16 in coverage consider CIEN a "buy" or better. Plus, the 12-month consensus price target of $68.05 is a 43.2% premium to current levels. 

Options traders have taken a much more bearish stance. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), CIEN sports a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 2.39, which ranks higher than 95% of readings from the past year.

Today's trading echoes that bearish sentiment, with 2,102 puts exchanged so far, which is 15 times the intraday average, compared to just 130 calls. The most popular is the September 55 put, followed distantly by the 45 put in the same monthly series.