Corning (NYSE:GLW) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• JPMorgan downgrade drove a premarket gap down — the stock, which closed at $168.27, opened at $163.38 after JPMorgan cut GLW from overweight to neutral and set a $175 price target.
• Significant insider selling — the CFO sold 21,104 shares and an EVP sold 15,366 shares, and insiders have sold 233,201 shares worth $32.6M in the past 90 days, leaving insiders with just 0.25% ownership.
• Mixed fundamentals and analyst view — Corning slightly beat quarterly EPS and revenue ($0.72 vs $0.71; $4.41B vs $4.35B), set Q1 guidance of $0.660–$0.700, and carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $136.69.

Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded the stock from an overweight rating to a neutral rating. The stock had previously closed at $168.27, but opened at $163.38. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now has a $175.00 price target on the stock. Corning shares last traded at $165.3980, with a volume of 4,324,434 shares.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on GLW. Oppenheimer set a $120.00 target price on Corning in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays set a $100.00 price target on Corning in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho set a $145.00 price target on Corning in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Wolfe Research set a $130.00 price objective on Corning and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Corning from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Corning presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $136.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corning

In other news, CFO Edward A. Schlesinger sold 21,104 shares of Corning stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.55, for a total value of $2,206,423.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 54,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,727,249. The trade was a 27.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lewis A. Steverson sold 15,366 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.22, for a total transaction of $2,000,960.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $450,691.42. The trade was a 81.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 233,201 shares of company stock valued at $32,614,558 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. KRS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Corning by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,058 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Corning by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,836 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Corning by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,248 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $897,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its position in Corning by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 17,796 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Corning by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 405 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company's stock.

Corning Trading Down 2.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $141.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.82.

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

Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. Corning's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.87%.

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.

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