Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Corning (NYSE:GLW)

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders bought 29,948 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 20% compared to the average daily volume of 25,035 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Corning from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Corning in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Corning and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Corning from $97.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $120.00 target price on shares of Corning in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.36.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In related news, CFO Edward A. Schlesinger sold 21,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.55, for a total transaction of $2,206,423.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,727,249. This trade represents a 27.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric S. Musser sold 25,000 shares of Corning stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $2,750,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,191,860. This trade represents a 55.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 55,945 shares of company stock worth $6,072,986. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Corning

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hartline Investment Corp increased its stake in shares of Corning by 113.2% in the third quarter. Hartline Investment Corp now owns 295,362 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $24,229,000 after acquiring an additional 156,843 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Corning by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 97,952,109 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $5,151,301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,895 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Corning by 638.0% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 546,407 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $28,736,000 after acquiring an additional 472,365 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Corning by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 44,037 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,316,000 after acquiring an additional 4,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Corning by 33.2% during the second quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 180,606 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $9,498,000 after buying an additional 44,994 shares during the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Corning Stock Performance

NYSE:GLW traded up $7.19 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $129.35. The stock had a trading volume of 10,331,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,607,884. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.44. Corning has a 12-month low of $37.31 and a 12-month high of $132.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.59. The stock has a market cap of $110.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.13.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The electronics maker reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. Corning had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 10.21%.The firm’s revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. Corning has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.660-0.700 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Corning will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corning Company Profile

Corning Incorporated is a global manufacturer specializing in specialty glass, ceramics and related materials and technologies. Headquartered in Corning, New York, the company supplies engineered materials and components used across multiple industries, including consumer electronics, telecommunications, automotive emissions control, pharmaceutical and life sciences, and industrial and scientific applications. Corning emphasizes materials science and precision manufacturing to develop durable, high-performance glass and ceramic products.

Key product lines include specialty display glass used by television and mobile-device manufacturers, cover glass marketed under well-known trade names for smartphones and tablets, and optical fiber and cable and related hardware for telecommunications networks.