New York, Feb 12, 2026, 17:50 EST — After-hours
- Coherent dropped roughly 3% in late trade following a filing that showed a key shareholder had exited.
- An affiliate of Bain Capital reported the sale of 9.44 million shares through a Rule 144 block trade, leaving it with zero shares now.
- Friday, traders are eyeing U.S. inflation numbers and watching to see if additional stock supply hits the market.
Coherent Corp (COHR) shares fell after hours Thursday, as new filings revealed a Bain Capital affiliate unloaded its entire stake in the photonics manufacturer through a multibillion-dollar block sale.
The news drops just as high-growth hardware stocks are on edge. Large investors cashing out tends to put a lid on rallies, since more shares hit the market—even if the company story hasn’t changed.
BCPE Watson (DE) BML, LP unloaded 9,437,238 Coherent shares in a Feb. 9 block trade, a Schedule 13D/A filing showed. The sale, done under Rule 144, priced at $235.58 apiece and totaled $2,223,224,528.04. Following the transaction, the filing notes, the group no longer beneficially owns any Coherent common stock. It also plans to distribute 338,608 shares to select members or partners for charitable giving. 1
Coherent slipped roughly 3.3% to $216.10, bouncing between $209.75 and $229.60 today. The stock is still sitting well above its 52-week low at $54.00, though it’s pulled back from a high of $239.17. Among peers, Lumentum edged up 1.7%, IPG Photonics soared nearly 35%, while Applied Optoelectronics tumbled 9%.
U.S. stocks took a steep hit Thursday—the Nasdaq dropped roughly 2%—as traders grew wary before Friday’s inflation numbers and weighed whether big bets on AI are really paying off anytime soon. 2
Block trades—big, negotiated sales usually run through banks—let sellers move large positions fast, often at prices below the prior close. Rule 144, an SEC regulation, sets out how restricted or “control” stock can be sold; filings under it often signal or document major holders exiting.
In a separate Thursday filing, Coherent CFO Sherri Luther outlined plans to sell 4,000 shares, totaling roughly $894,760 in market value, with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney handling the trade. The document gave Nov. 13, 2025 as the adoption date for her Rule 10b5-1 plan—a preset schedule for insider share sales. 3
In a separate announcement, Coherent reported that six of its products picked up honors in the 2026 Lightwave Innovation Reviews, with a spotlight on optical networking gear and transceivers used near data centers and communications infrastructure. “These awards reflect the strength and depth of our technology,” Chief Technology Officer Julie Eng said in the statement. 4
There’s a lingering risk here: selling might not wrap up cleanly after a single exit. Bain’s affiliate may show zero ownership now, but investors are watching closely for any hints of more shares hitting the market—whether that’s from further insider sales, distribution-driven supply, or signals of weaker demand, any of which could force another reset in expectations.
Friday brings the U.S. inflation report, with investors also watching for more details on the block trade’s settlement and what happens with the shares afterward.
