CIENA Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) opened at $30.95. So far today the stock has hit a low of $30.14 and a high of $30.95. As of 11:00, CIEN is trading at $30.18, down $0.01 (-0.1%).

After hitting a one year high of $33.67 in June, the stock has been volatile all year, hitting a year low of $22.04 in November. Jim Cramer wrote today that Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) earnings release this morning indicates that spending on optical businesses is going to see a notable jump for the first time in ages. Though he hates this sector, which he says hinges solely on Verizon, he thinks now is the time to get in. With Verizon's earnings out of the way, stocks like Ciena, Corning (NYSE: GLW), JDSU (NASDAQ: JDSU), and Tellabs (NASDAQ: TLAB) stand to benefit from the spending cycle. Recent technical indicators for CIEN have been bullish and steady, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a July bull-put credit spread below the $25 range. CIEN hasn't been below $25 since November and has shown support around $27.80 recently. This trade could be risky if Q2 earnings (due out in late May or early June) disappoint, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by the historical support around $25.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.
DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At press time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in CIEN, VZ, GLW, JDSU, or TLAB.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal's (subscription required) "Heard on the Street" column focused on companies that would be hurt the most by the price of oil continuing to fall. The article mentioned Hess Corp (NYSE: HES) and Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU), along with alternative energy companies Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings (NYSE: AVR), Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ: PEIX) and VeraSun Energy (NYSE: VSE).

OTHER PAPERS:

• French newspaper Les Echoes reported that United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) may cancel its order for 10 Airbus A380s, which could create an opportunity for Boeing (NYSE: BA).
• Light Reading reported that Tellab's (NASDAQ: TLAB) CTO Thomas Gruenwald will leave the company at the end of this week.
  
• Investor's Business Daily's "New America" column mentioned BMC Software (NYSE: BMC) positively.
• BusinessWeek's "Inside Wall Street" column mentioned Volcano (NASDAQ: VOLC), UCBH Holdings (NASDAQ: UCBH) and US Airways Group (NYSE: LCC) positively.