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

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 42,502 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 293% compared to the typical volume of 10,810 call options.

Corning Price Performance

Shares of Corning stock traded up $1.89 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $53.44. 4,030,904 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,167,298. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $48.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.25. The company has a market cap of $45.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 314.47, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.04. Corning has a 1-year low of $30.30 and a 1-year high of $53.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Corning will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Corning

In related news, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 8,876 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.09, for a total value of $435,722.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.39, for a total transaction of $241,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $324,213. The trade was a 42.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Corning

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Corning by 0.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 39,225,452 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,771,029,000 after buying an additional 133,214 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Corning by 3.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,983,090 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,534,337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242,718 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Corning by 0.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,853,076 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $219,116,000 after acquiring an additional 38,168 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Corning by 52.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $168,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Corning by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,810,435 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $126,893,000 after buying an additional 52,667 shares during the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on GLW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Corning from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 price objective (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Corning in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a 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 $51.31.

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.