Corning (NYSE:GLW) PT Set at $56.00 by Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target for Corning Inc. from $50.00 to $56.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating, which suggests a potential downside of 10.38% from the current stock price.
• Analysts from other brokerages also raised their price targets for Corning, with Oppenheimer setting a target of $72.00, indicating a generally positive outlook on the stock.
• Corning reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.60, exceeding expectations and showing a clear increase from the previous year’s $0.47 EPS.

Corning (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) has been assigned a $56.00 target price by analysts at Morgan Stanley in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the electronics maker's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target points to a potential downside of 9.47% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Corning from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 price target (up previously from $55.00) on shares of Corning in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price target on Corning from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Susquehanna reissued a "positive" rating and set a $75.00 price target (up previously from $60.00) on shares of Corning in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Corning in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.25.

Corning Price Performance

NYSE GLW traded down $1.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $61.86. The stock had a trading volume of 1,550,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,656,121. Corning has a 52-week low of $37.18 and a 52-week high of $63.91. The company has a market cap of $52.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Corning (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.84 billion. Corning had a return on equity of 17.27% and a net margin of 5.77%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Corning will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In related news, COO Avery H. Nelson III sold 36,240 shares of Corning stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $2,256,302.40. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 64,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,036,813.88. This trade represents a 35.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Paul O'day sold 14,879 shares of Corning stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.36, for a total value of $927,854.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 35,743 shares in the company, valued at $2,228,933.48. The trade was a 29.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,381 shares of company stock valued at $7,836,789 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GLW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 46.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 2,114 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 349,487 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $16,608,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 278.3% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 743,788 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $35,345,000 after purchasing an additional 547,167 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 56,046 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 7,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 190.7% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 14,429 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 9,466 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.80% of the company's stock.

About Corning

Corning Incorporated engages in the display technologies, optical communications, environmental technologies, specialty materials, and life sciences businesses in the United States and internationally. The company's Display Technologies segment offers glass substrates for flat panel displays, including liquid crystal displays and organic light-emitting diodes that are used in televisions, notebook computers, desktop monitors, tablets, and handheld devices.