Corning (NYSE:GLW) Trading 2.6% Higher - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Shares traded up 2.6% intraday to $133.18 on ~11.1M volume, and analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target of $131.75 while several firms raised targets (e.g., UBS to $160, Morgan Stanley to $127) and Weiss upgraded to buy.
• Corning beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $0.72 vs. $0.71 and revenue of $4.41B (up 13.9% y/y), provided Q1 2026 guidance of $0.66–$0.70 EPS, and analysts expect about $2.33 EPS for the year.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently—CEO Wendell P. Weeks sold 137,514 shares at about $155.37 (a 15.48% reduction in his ownership) and insiders sold ~233,201 shares worth $32.6M over three months—while large institutional investors concurrently increased positions.

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) shares traded up 2.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $134.25 and last traded at $133.18. 11,118,474 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 1% from the average session volume of 10,987,418 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on GLW. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Corning from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Corning from $103.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Corning in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. HSBC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Corning in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Corning from $125.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $131.75.

Corning Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.60.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.01. The business 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 company's revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. Corning has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.660-0.700 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Corning's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Wendell P. Weeks sold 137,514 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.37, for a total transaction of $21,365,550.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 750,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $116,618,391.45. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric S. Musser sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.25, for a total transaction of $1,953,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $641,611.50. The trade was a 75.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 233,201 shares of company stock worth $32,614,558. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Corning

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Corning during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $907,164,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $921,435,000. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Corning during the third quarter worth $676,931,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Corning by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,557,489 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $1,358,211,000 after purchasing an additional 3,848,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in Corning by 748.0% in the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 3,169,741 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $260,014,000 after buying an additional 2,795,948 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company's stock.

About Corning

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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