Corning shares fall 5.4% as analysts keep bullish outlook

Corning Inc. shares fell 5.4% to $184.33 on Tuesday, extending a five-day losing streak and reducing the company’s market value by about $52.4 billion. The stock had dropped roughly 24% over the prior four trading days but remained up 105% year-to-date and 256% over the past 12 months.

The pullback followed broad selling in semiconductor and AI infrastructure stocks. Analysts at Oppenheimer, Bank of America and UBS kept positive ratings on Corning and raised price targets.

Oppenheimer’s Martin Yang raised his target to $230 from $210, writing the pullback offers an “attractive entry point” into Corning’s long-term growth. Bank of America’s Wamsi Mohan increased his target to $243 from $223 and wrote, “We expect the quarter to reinforce that optical demand remains firm.” UBS reaffirmed a Buy rating and set a $228 target, citing greater confidence in the company’s long-term outlook.

Analysts pointed to Corning’s role supplying glass, optical fiber and networking products for data centers, telecommunications and semiconductor manufacturing. The company promotes its Corning GlassWorks AI Solutions portfolio for optical connections across AI infrastructure. Corning also makes display glass for consumer devices and supplies optical materials used in data centers.

Recent customer agreements include a multibillion-dollar June deal to supply Amazon with optical fiber for data centers; an arrangement with Nvidia that could total up to $3.2 billion to expand manufacturing capacity in Texas and North Carolina; and a $6 billion contract announced in January to provide Meta Platforms with cabling, optical fiber and connectivity products.

Investors are focused on Corning’s upcoming second-quarter earnings report to see whether demand for optical networking can be sustained. At a recent investor day, Corning raised its 2028 sales forecast by about 25% to nearly $30 billion and outlined a plan to reach $40 billion in annual sales by 2030. UBS raised its 2028 adjusted earnings-per-share estimate to $6.70, introduced a 2030 EPS projection near $9.80, and projected fiber demand growing about 1.3 to 1.5 times the pace of GPUs and ASICs. Corning said its Photonics business could add roughly $10 billion in sales by 2030.

Short-term volatility has driven recent trading as investors reassess AI-linked suppliers. Market participants will watch sales and profit trends in the quarter to determine whether optical networking demand is sustained.