Needham analyst Alex Henderson raised his price target on Ciena (CIEN) to $29 after the company's Q1 earnings beat, helped in part by its effective rate coming down to 26% from about 36%. The analyst expects about 22c of tax-related benefits for FY18 while also pointing to the company's stable Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T) business, along with brighter opportunities in the cable and international segments. Henderson keeps his Buy rating on Ciena, also pointing to its discussion of two new sub-sea deals signed in January with trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic cable systems.

Scotiabank raised the firm's price target on AT&T to $22.50 from $22 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The companies continued execution of simplifying and streamlining operations continues to bear fruit, the analyst tells investors. While the wireless market remains competitive, reduced handset subsidies and positive pricing actions are leading to improved overall profitability metrics, the firm adds.

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FY25 EPS consensus $2.16.

Ribbon Communications (RRBN) announced plans for a major network modernization program with Verizon (VZ) to retire legacy TDM switching platforms and replace their function with modern cloud-based technologies. Verizon is leveraging Ribbon's portfolio of Voice Products including the vC20 Call Controller, G5 Line Access Gateway, G6 Universal Media Gateway, virtual and Cloud-native Session Border Controllers, and other products which allows for the consolidation and replacement of equipment with energy efficient, software-centric platforms while maintaining full feature functionality.

Reports Q1 revenue $30B, consensus $28.65B. Reports Q1 349,000 postpaid phone net adds. "Our results this quarter reflect continued strong growth in our Mobility and Consumer Wireline connectivity businesses, which represent about 80% of our total revenues," said John Stankey, AT&T CEO. "Customers are choosing AT&T and staying with us. We achieved a record-low first-quarter postpaid phone churn, grew consumer broadband subscribers for the third consecutive quarter, and expanded margins in Mobility and Consumer Wireline. We're also delivering on our commitment to grow and improve the quality and cadence of free cash flow, which increased by more than $2 billion year over year. This consistent, solid performance driven by our investment-led strategy gives us confidence to re-affirm our full-year consolidated financial guidance."