CIEN vs. NTAP: Ciena vs. NetApp Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Ciena (CIEN) and NetApp (NTAP) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Ciena (CIEN) and NetApp (NTAP) both fall under the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group, but CIEN is classified in Communications Equipment while NTAP is classified in Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals.

Company profile comparison for Ciena (CIEN) and NetApp (NTAP)
Profile Item	CIEN	NTAP
Name	Ciena Corp.	NetApp, Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Information Technology	Information Technology
GICS Industry Group	Technology Hardware & Equipment	Technology Hardware & Equipment
GICS Industry	Communications Equipment	Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals
GICS Sub-Industry	Communications Equipment	Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals
Market Capitalization	34.51 billion USD	33.23 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	February 7, 1997	November 21, 1995
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CIEN

NTAP

GSPC

Ciena (CIEN) vs. NetApp (NTAP), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Ciena (CIEN) and NetApp (NTAP). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Ciena (CIEN) and NetApp (NTAP). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Ciena (CIEN) and NetApp (NTAP)
Metric	CIEN	NTAP
Total Return (1Y)	36.49%	59.65%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	84.56%	35.23%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	35.01%	16.66%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CIEN

NTAP

GSPC

Ciena (CIEN) vs. NetApp (NTAP), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Ciena (CIEN) and NetApp (NTAP). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Ciena (CIEN) and NetApp (NTAP)
Metric	CIEN	NTAP
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	81.12%	48.37%
Beta (5Y)	1.39	1.55
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-63.19%	-42.61%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.83M	2.39M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CIEN and NTAP are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Ciena (CIEN) and NetApp (NTAP)
Metric	CIEN	NTAP
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.40	1.14
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.56	1.84

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both companies show strong equity returns, but NetApp (NTAP) at 114.82% is the standout with ROE above its industry range; Ciena (CIEN) at 22.40% also sits in the top quartile.

CIEN

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

22.40%

Max: 42.47%
CIEN: 22.40%
Q3: 19.13%
Median: 11.00%
Q1: 1.63%
Min: -20.62%

NTAP

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

114.82%

NTAP: 114.82%
Max: 42.47%
Q3: 19.13%
Median: 11.00%
Q1: 1.63%
Min: -20.62%

Ciena (CIEN) vs. NetApp (NTAP): A comparison of their ROE against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

NetApp (NTAP) at 19.19% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Ciena (CIEN) at 10.87%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

CIEN

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

10.87%

Max: 27.60%
Q3: 11.66%
CIEN: 10.87%
Median: 4.08%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -11.02%

NTAP

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

19.19%

Max: 27.60%
NTAP: 19.19%
Q3: 11.66%
Median: 4.08%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -11.02%

Ciena (CIEN) vs. NetApp (NTAP): A comparison of their net margin against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

NetApp (NTAP) at 26.67% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Ciena (CIEN) at 18.08%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

CIEN

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

18.08%

Max: 36.27%
Q3: 18.36%
CIEN: 18.08%
Median: 8.84%
Q1: 1.46%
Min: -21.39%

NTAP

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

26.67%

Max: 36.27%
NTAP: 26.67%
Q3: 18.36%
Median: 8.84%
Q1: 1.46%
Min: -21.39%

Ciena (CIEN) vs. NetApp (NTAP): A comparison of their operating margin against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Ciena (CIEN) and NetApp (NTAP)
Metric	CIEN	NTAP
ROE (TTM)	22.40%	114.82%
ROA (TTM)	7.73%	11.66%
Net Margin (TTM)	10.87%	19.19%
Operating Margin (TTM)	18.08%	26.67%
Gross Margin (TTM)	44.07%	70.63%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Ciena (CIEN) at 18.79% and NetApp (NTAP) at 5.37% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Ciena (CIEN) vs. NetApp (NTAP): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Ciena (CIEN) at 46.55% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while NetApp (NTAP) at 11.99% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for CIEN.

Ciena (CIEN) vs. NetApp (NTAP): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Ciena (CIEN) and NetApp (NTAP)
Metric	CIEN	NTAP
Revenue Growth (YoY)	18.79%	5.37%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	9.50%	2.87%
EPS Growth (YoY)	46.55%	11.99%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-5.27%	3.13%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Ciena (CIEN) at 3.80 carries current ratio above its industry’s typical mid-range, while NetApp (NTAP) at 1.24 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — different working-capital profiles, both worth examining.

CIEN

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

3.80

Max: 5.34
CIEN: 3.80
Q3: 3.02
Median: 1.95
Q1: 1.32
Min: 0.17

NTAP

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

1.24

Max: 5.34
Q3: 3.02
Median: 1.95
Q1: 1.32
NTAP: 1.24
Min: 0.17

Ciena (CIEN) vs. NetApp (NTAP): A comparison of their current ratio against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Ciena (CIEN) at 1.07 and NetApp (NTAP) at 1.69 lean more heavily on debt funding than most peers, landing in the higher-leverage quartile of their industries.

CIEN

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

1.07

Max: 1.76
CIEN: 1.07
Q3: 0.78
Median: 0.24
Q1: 0.04
Min: 0.01

NTAP

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

1.69

Max: 1.76
NTAP: 1.69
Q3: 0.78
Median: 0.24
Q1: 0.04
Min: 0.01

Ciena (CIEN) vs. NetApp (NTAP): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Ciena (CIEN) and NetApp (NTAP)
Metric	CIEN	NTAP
Current Ratio (MRQ)	3.80	1.24
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.07	1.69
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.64	-0.50

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Ciena (CIEN) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile NetApp (NTAP) reports a yield of 1.23%, ranking against industry peers normally.

CIEN

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

0.00%

Max: 0.73%
Q3: 0.31%
CIEN: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

NTAP

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

1.23%

NTAP: 1.23%
Max: 0.73%
Q3: 0.31%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Ciena (CIEN) vs. NetApp (NTAP): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Ciena (CIEN) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile NetApp (NTAP) reports a payout of 29.34%, ranking against industry peers normally.

CIEN

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

0.00%

Max: 32.27%
Q3: 14.48%
CIEN: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

NTAP

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

29.34%

Max: 32.27%
NTAP: 29.34%
Q3: 14.48%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Ciena (CIEN) vs. NetApp (NTAP): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Ciena (CIEN) and NetApp (NTAP)
Metric	CIEN	NTAP
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	1.23%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	29.34%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

NetApp (NTAP) at 23.86 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Ciena (CIEN) at 54.45 sits in the richer quartile — CIEN needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

CIEN

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

54.45

Max: 69.48
CIEN: 54.45
Q3: 41.02
Median: 26.39
Q1: 19.36
Min: 6.07

NTAP

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

23.86

Max: 69.48
Q3: 41.02
Median: 26.39
NTAP: 23.86
Q1: 19.36
Min: 6.07

Ciena (CIEN) vs. NetApp (NTAP): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Ciena (CIEN) at 5.73 and NetApp (NTAP) at 4.50 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

CIEN

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

5.73

Max: 11.30
Q3: 5.82
CIEN: 5.73
Median: 2.56
Q1: 1.05
Min: 0.00

NTAP

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

4.50

Max: 11.30
Q3: 5.82
NTAP: 4.50
Median: 2.56
Q1: 1.05
Min: 0.00

Ciena (CIEN) vs. NetApp (NTAP): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Measured against book value, both Ciena (CIEN) at 11.30 and NetApp (NTAP) at 22.18 look expensive — each P/B ratio sits above its industry’s benchmark range.

CIEN

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

11.30

CIEN: 11.30
Max: 10.75
Q3: 5.52
Median: 3.17
Q1: 1.79
Min: 0.33

NTAP

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

22.18

NTAP: 22.18
Max: 10.75
Q3: 5.52
Median: 3.17
Q1: 1.79
Min: 0.33

Ciena (CIEN) vs. NetApp (NTAP): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Ciena (CIEN) and NetApp (NTAP)
Metric	CIEN	NTAP
P/E Ratio (TTM)	54.45	23.86
P/S Ratio (TTM)	5.73	4.50
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	11.30	22.18
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	1.84%	3.52%