Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Corning (NYSE:GLW)

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 20,025 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 131% compared to the average volume of 8,664 call options.

Corning Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GLW opened at $62.53 on Thursday. Corning has a fifty-two week low of $37.18 and a fifty-two week high of $63.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $53.56 billion, a PE ratio of 66.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.97.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. Corning had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 17.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Corning will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 215.38%.

Insider Activity

In other Corning news, SVP Stefan Becker sold 17,106 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.68, for a total value of $849,826.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,117 shares in the company, valued at $800,692.56. The trade was a 51.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John Z. Zhang sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.91, for a total transaction of $375,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 9,610 shares in the company, valued at $450,805.10. This represents a 45.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,534 shares of company stock worth $2,739,891. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in Corning by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 18,329 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Corning by 1.5% in the second quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 17,513 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $921,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Corning by 4.6% in the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 169,878 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $8,803,000 after acquiring an additional 7,509 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Corning in the second quarter valued at approximately $479,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Corning in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,324,000. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GLW shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Corning from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Corning from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $59.00 target price on shares of Corning and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Corning from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Corning currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.25.

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.