Corning (NYSE:GLW) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday. The stock had previously closed at $151.59, but opened at $157.05. Corning shares last traded at $158.4880, with a volume of 2,898,129 shares trading hands.

Key Corning News

Here are the key news stories impacting Corning this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AT&T agreed to purchase more than $3 billion of fiber and cable from Corning over multiple years as it expands broadband capacity, targets 60 million fiber passings by 2030, and responds to rising data and AI-related demand. The deal improves Corning’s revenue visibility and could increase utilization of its expanded manufacturing capacity. AT&T signs over $3 billion fiber deal with Corning
• Positive Sentiment: The agreement reinforces Corning’s position as a supplier of critical optical infrastructure for telecom networks, cloud computing, and AI data centers. It follows sizable commitments involving Verizon and Meta, potentially creating a substantial multi-year backlog. Corning’s fiber infrastructure contracts
• Neutral Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage with a “market perform” rating and a $140 price target, signaling limited near-term upside based on its valuation assessment. This contrasts with the broader analyst average target of approximately $176.50.
• Neutral Sentiment: Optical communications stocks broadly rebounded after a recent sector selloff, providing some additional momentum for Corning. However, this move reflects industry trading conditions rather than a company-specific fundamental change. Optics stocks rebound
• Negative Sentiment: Corning’s premium valuation leaves less room for execution problems. The stock trades at roughly 70 times earnings, while insider selling and a recently filed agreement to potentially issue up to $2 billion of common stock create dilution and valuation concerns.
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of Corning investors. The announcement does not establish wrongdoing, but adds headline and legal risk. Pomerantz investor investigation

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GLW. Weiss Ratings downgraded Corning from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Corning from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $196.00 target price on shares of Corning in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Corning from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Corning in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.07.

Corning Trading Down 3.0%

The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $132.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $152.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.31.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The electronics maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.02. Corning had a return on equity of 20.09% and a net margin of 11.20%.The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.63 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. Corning has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.850-0.890 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corning

In related news, EVP Lewis Steverson sold 13,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.29, for a total transaction of $1,981,899.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,052 shares in the company, valued at $2,277,217.08. This represents a 46.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Corning

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GLW. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Corning by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 130,887 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $33,432,000 after buying an additional 17,955 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Corning by 22.9% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,479,311 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $377,859,000 after acquiring an additional 275,874 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Corning by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 41,108,384 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $10,500,315,000 after acquiring an additional 4,845,027 shares during the period. Wellington Altus USA Inc. lifted its position in Corning by 32.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 427 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Corning in the 2nd quarter worth about $295,000. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

About Corning

Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) is a global materials science and technology company headquartered in Corning, New York. Founded in 1851, the company develops specialized glass, ceramics and optical technologies for customers in the communications, consumer electronics, automotive, life sciences and industrial markets.

Its Optical Communications segment supplies fiber, cable, hardware and related solutions used in telecommunications and data center networks. Corning also produces glass substrates for flat-panel displays, including televisions, monitors and other electronic devices, as well as specialty cover glass such as Gorilla Glass for mobile devices and other consumer electronics.

Additional products include automotive emissions-control substrates and filters, pharmaceutical and laboratory glassware, and advanced glass and ceramic materials used in semiconductor, aerospace, environmental and other applications.