Shares of Ciena (CIEN), a network strategy and technology company, are off their intraday lows after the company disagreed with an earlier research note. COMPANY DEFENDS SHARES: Earlier in the trading session, Ciena defended itself from a negative research call. Rosenblatt Securities had cut its price target on Ciena shares to $29 from $32 while maintaining a Buy rating. Rosenblatt told investors that recent checks indicate AT&T (T) spending may not be as much as anticipated. The firm’s analyst said believes Ciena had initiated staff reductions, likely predicated on AT&T headwinds, in an effort to meet earnings expectations. In emailed comments to Bloomberg, Ciena immediately protested the assertion that layoffs had anything to do with AT&T. Ciena told Bloomberg that it saw no changes in AT&T’s fiber-to-cell plans in 2018. Ciena also clarified that its recent reorganization was targeted and unrelated to AT&T. ANALYST BACKS CIENA: Research firm Jefferies came out with a note defending Ciena and reiterated its Buy rating on shares. George Notter, an analyst at the firm, said he disagreed with the competitor’s research note, claiming that Ciena is seeing softness from AT&T as the carrier re-allocates capital dollars away from packet networking. The analyst saw “nothing wrong with AT&T” and told investors to focus on the big picture. He reiterated a Buy rating on Ciena with a $31 price target. Ciena management told Notter that they have not heard of, nor expect, any changes to AT&T’s fiber-to-cell tower plans. PRICE ACTION: Ciena is off its intraday low of $24.64, trading down 1.8% at $26.15 heading into late day trading.