Ciena shares rose as much as 6.5% to $371.36 in Monday’s premarket trading after Evercore ISI upgraded the networking equipment provider to Outperform from In Line. Evercore analyst Amit Daryanani raised the price target to $550 from $375, implying about 58% upside from Friday’s close of $348.80. The bullish view centers on optical networking (high-speed systems for transmitting data over fiber) needed to connect expanding AI data centers and hyperscale cloud networks. Evercore forecasts Ciena’s total addressable market will grow about 24% annually to $52 billion by fiscal 2029, with revenue growth above 30% and earnings growth above 35% during that period. Ciena’s own fiscal 2029 targets include roughly 30% compound annual revenue growth from fiscal 2026 through fiscal 2029, a 50% adjusted gross margin, a 32% to 35% adjusted operating margin and free cash flow margins near 20%. The company’s third-quarter fiscal revenue increased 37% year over year to $1.67 billion, while adjusted earnings per share rose 215% to $2.11. Ciena also lifted its fiscal 2026 revenue guidance to about $6.42 billion. Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $450 while retaining an Equal Weight rating, and FactSet data cited by Barron’s showed an average analyst rating of Overweight with a $525.78 consensus target. Ciena’s execution remains dependent on sustained AI infrastructure spending, expanded supply capacity and market-share gains, while customer capital expenditure changes, supply disruptions and competition pose risks.