Ciena's stock price could double next year-Barron's

NEW YORK Oct 11 (Reuters) - The stock price of U.S. network gear maker Ciena Corp (CIEN.O) could double in 2010 as stabilizing industry trends and its bid for assets of Canada's Nortel Networks Corp (NRTLQ.PK) should boost its sales, business weekly Barron's reported in its Oct. 12 edition.

Quoting Morgan Keegan analyst Simon Leopold, Barron's said Ciena's stock could potentially trade as high as $24.50, as the Nortel deal would make Ciena the No. 3 player in the optical-switching market and give the business greater scale.

Ciena's stock closed on Friday at $12.84 on the Nasdaq.

Over the past 52 weeks, the stock's price has climbed 76 percent.

Ciena made a $521 million stock-and-cash offer for bankrupt Nortel's Internet infrastructure business last week. Ciena's offer is a "stalking horse bid," meaning it is subject to higher offers and bankruptcy court approval. Most analysts, however, have said they do not expect other bidders to emerge. For details, double-click [ID:nN07462090] (Reporting by Emily Chasan; Editing by Jan Paschal)