Ciena Corp CIEN shares were climbing Wednesday after the company announced upbeat fiscal first-quarter results.

The company reported its results amid an exciting earnings season. Here are some key analyst takeaways.

Needham On Ciena

Analyst Ryan Koontz maintained a Buy rating while reducing the price target from $95 to $90.

Ciena's quarterly revenues grew 3% year-on-year to $1,072 million, beating consensus of $1,052 million, Koontz said in a note. Non-GAAP earnings of 64 cents per share were well above expectations of 41 cents per share, with gross margins coming in much higher than expected, he added.

Some investors grew concerned as management's fiscal second-quarter guidance was only in line with expectations, the analyst stated. "Strong execution paired with best-in-class technology and customer relationships should see CIEN continue to gain meaningful market share in its core TAM, although we are less bullish on its two new product segments," he further wrote.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

Rosenblatt Securities On Ciena

Analyst Mike Genovese reaffirmed a Neutral rating while cutting the price target from $79 to $73.

Ciena's healthy quarterly results were highlighted by strong orders, backlog build and gross margins, Genovese said. He added that the company's revenue guidance for the fiscal second quarter was not as strong as the beat.

Management maintained the full-year gross margin guidance at 42%-44% despite the first-quarter gross margins of 44.7%, which exceeded consensus by 270 basis points, the analyst stated.

The Street seemed to be concerned about the impact of tariffs and "demand destruction" from a potential recession this year, he further wrote.

Stifel On Ciena

Analyst Ruben Roy reiterated a Buy rating and price target of $95.

Ciena reported strong results across the board, Roy said. The company's order momentum continued, with direct orders from cloud service providers representing over 50% of overall orders during the quarter, he added.

With SP revenues growing 14% in the first quarter, "We continue to believe that CIEN is the best way to play our expectations for a continued SP recovery over the next 12-18 months," the analyst wrote.

Management indicated that its guidance could be missed depending on "the outcome of proposed tariffs," he further stated.

CIEN Price Action: Shares of Ciena had risen by 4.18% to $66.62 at the time of publication on Wednesday.

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Photo: Courtesy Ciena