HSBC Upgrades Corning (NYSE:GLW) to Buy

Corning (NYSE:GLW) was upgraded by stock analysts at HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $60.00 price objective on the electronics maker’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $51.00. HSBC’s target price suggests a potential upside of 20.08% from the stock’s previous close.

GLW has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 target price (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Corning in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Corning Stock Down 2.5 %

GLW opened at $49.97 on Thursday. Corning has a twelve month low of $30.72 and a twelve month high of $55.33. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $48.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.57. The stock has a market cap of $42.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 293.93, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.04. 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 (NYSE:GLW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.01. Corning had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 1.24%. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 stock in a transaction dated 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 is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,700 shares in the company, valued at $324,213. The trade was a 42.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLW. FMR LLC increased its stake in Corning by 52.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $168,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,836 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Corning by 3.8% during 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. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Corning by 215.6% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,677,513 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $75,740,000 after buying an additional 1,145,955 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Corning by 4,306.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,050,463 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $47,428,000 after buying an additional 1,026,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. raised its position in Corning by 14,556.8% during the third quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 881,019 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $39,778,000 after purchasing an additional 875,008 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

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.