Corning Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:GLW)

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 42,502 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 293% compared to the average volume of 10,810 call options.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In related news, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 8,876 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.09, for a total value of $435,722.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.39, for a total value of $241,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $324,213. The trade was a 42.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Corning

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in Corning by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 28,229 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Corning by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 74,845 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $3,563,000 after acquiring an additional 7,860 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Corning during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,075,000. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora boosted its stake in shares of Corning by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 37,932 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its stake in shares of Corning by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 17,994 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $855,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Performance

NYSE GLW opened at $53.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Corning has a 52-week low of $30.31 and a 52-week high of $54.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $48.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $46.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 317.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.04.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. Corning had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 1.24%. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Corning will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on GLW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Corning from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on Corning from $40.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of Corning in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.31.

Corning Company Profile

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.