Ciena tumbles after disappointing 4Q results

Ciena's revenue dropped 17 percent, missing the company's forecast issued in September. The company said it expects the "challenging environment will persist through 2009" and forecast first-quarter sales of $170 million to $185 million, below Wall Street's expectations.

Shares of the Linthicum Heights, Md.-based company fell $1.44, or 19.1 percent, to $6.12 in afternoon trading.

However, Morgan Keegan analyst Simon Leopold kept an "Outperform" rating on the stock and said the revenue guidance is "just not as bad as it could have been." He estimates revenue of $188 million.

"Ciena has defied skeptics by lowering costs and maintains a great balance sheet with $3 of net cash per share, a level we think it at least maintains," the analyst wrote in a note to investors.

Ciena's customers include large telecommunications companies like Sprint Nextel Corp. and AT&T Inc.

The company's stock is down more than 82 percent year-to-date. It has ranged between $5.07 and $35.82 in the past 52 weeks.