NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Ciena (CIEN) - Get Report shares are climbing, up 0.29% to $20.66, in trading on Thursday following the release of the communications networking equipment manufacturer's first quarter earnings results before the opening bell today.

The company reported a first quarter net loss of $18.1 million, which adjusted for amortization costs and stock option expense translated to an EPS of 12 cents per share on revenue of $529.2 million. Analysts on average were expecting the company to report earnings of 4 cents per share on revenue of $559 million.

The company provided current quarter revenue guidance between $585 million and $615 million, the midpoint of which tops analysts' $599.6 million expectations.

TheStreet's Richard Saintvilus believes that the company's profit will jump in the near term as the company diversifies its services. Saintvilus' report can be read here.

TheStreet Ratings team rates CIENA CORP as a Hold with a ratings score of C-. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate CIENA CORP (CIEN) a HOLD. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed -0.4% to $20.68 in  some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, good cash flow from operations and expanding profit margins. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including unimpressive growth in net income and a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

• You can view the full analysis from the report here: CIEN Ratings Report

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