Corning (NYSE:GLW) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $107.73 and last traded at $110.9640, with a volume of 5802410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.95.

Key Headlines Impacting Corning

Here are the key news stories impacting Corning this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results and upgraded outlook — Corning beat revenue and EPS expectations (Q4 revenue $4.41B, EPS $0.72) and raised its Springboard targets and Q1 2026 guidance, citing strong optical/fiber demand. Corning Announces Outstanding 2025 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Large Meta agreement — Corning announced a multiyear, up-to-$6B deal to supply fiber optics for US data center builds, supporting capacity expansion and multi‑year revenue visibility. Corning and Meta announce multiyear, up to $6bln agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifting price targets — Multiple firms (Susquehanna, Citigroup, JPMorgan) raised price targets and ratings after the results and Meta deal, signaling continued buy-side interest and upside from current levels. Susquehanna raises GLW price target
• Positive Sentiment: Market/industry commentary bullish — Media and analysts (Jim Cramer, Zacks) highlight Corning as an AI/data-center beneficiary due to optical sales, big-tech contracts and rising margins. Jim Cramer: Hold Corning
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector tailwinds noted — Analysts point to fiber densification and 5G/cloud trends that support longer-term optical demand, but timing and capex cycles could cause variability. Zacks industry outlook
• Negative Sentiment: CFO insider sale — Corning CFO Edward Schlesinger sold ~21,104 shares (~$2.2M at ~$104.55) and reduced his holdings by ~28%, a move some traders view as a near‑term negative signal. SEC Form 4: Schlesinger sale
• Negative Sentiment: Short-term pullback/profit-taking — Shares pared gains after the earnings/Meta news despite beat and guidance, reflecting profit-taking after a recent surge to new highs. Seeking Alpha: Corning slips after Q4

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GLW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Corning from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer set a $120.00 price target on Corning in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research downgraded Corning from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Corning from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.67.

Corning Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $88.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $89.46 and a 200-day moving average of $79.63.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The electronics maker reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. Corning had a net margin of 9.16% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In other 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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lewis A. Steverson sold 23,142 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.05, for a total transaction of $2,060,795.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,565,053.75. This trade represents a 56.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 65,139 shares of company stock valued at $6,173,705. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Corning

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GLW. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Corning by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,283,317 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $8,693,247,000 after purchasing an additional 580,678 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Corning by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,008,856 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $3,035,836,000 after acquiring an additional 439,883 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Corning by 0.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,443,525 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,018,629,000 after acquiring an additional 112,739 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 30.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,557,489 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,358,211,000 after purchasing an additional 3,848,540 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Corning by 8.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,763,148 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $724,432,000 after buying an additional 1,036,988 shares during the period. 69.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.