NEW YORK, Feb 23, 2026, 11:29 EST — Regular session
- Corning climbed 4.9% to $146.34, having briefly reached $148.51 earlier in the session.
- UBS bumped its price target up to $160 on Feb. 20. Morgan Stanley followed, moving its target to $127 this Monday.
- Looking ahead, the ex-dividend date lands on Feb. 26, with investor conferences slated for Feb. 27 and March 3.
Corning shares climbed again Monday, stretching their recent surge and lifting the stock well past last week’s mark. Investors are betting on the company’s involvement in constructing data centers for the AI era.
This shift is catching attention as Wall Street figures out just how long the data-center spending boom can keep rolling, and what the fallout might be for fiber and networking equipment suppliers. “Hyperscalers”—those heavyweight cloud and internet players with sprawling data centers—have been ramping up their capex chatter, pushing cash toward companies viewed as essential suppliers. Investing.com India
UBS bumped up its price target on Corning last week, pushing it to a Street-high $160 from $125, citing ramped-up spending by hyperscalers. Analyst Joshua Spector flagged that higher capital expenditures “points to more fiber deployment within data centers,” a trend he says boosts Corning’s prospects for optical fiber sales. Investing.com India
Morgan Stanley bumped up its price target on Corning to $127 from $103 on Monday, sticking with its “equalweight” rating. That’s according to a report published by MarketScreener. MarketScreener
Corning’s strategy has shifted toward locking in multi-year supply contracts as it builds out more U.S. plants. Back in late January, the company and Meta unveiled a deal that could be worth as much as $6 billion. Corning’s set to provide optical fiber, cable, and other connectivity gear, plus ramp up production in North Carolina.
CEO Wendell P. Weeks, in the release, called the Meta agreement a reflection of Corning’s push to develop, innovate, and manufacture key technologies for next-generation U.S. data centers. Over at Meta, Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan described the move as a step to secure the “high-performance fiber optic cables our AI infrastructure needs.” Corning
It all rides on the optical communications segment staying resilient as data-center construction keeps fueling orders. Back in late January, Corning surprised the Street with a first-quarter 2026 sales forecast that topped analyst estimates, crediting robust demand for its fiber-optic lines, according to Reuters.
Corning shares have surged roughly 66% year-to-date, according to MarketScreener. Monday’s rally pushed the stock past the fair value targets that several analysts had previously set.
Chasing this move comes with clear risks. Should hyperscaler spending falter, or if Corning’s pricing and product mix underwhelm as new capacity comes online, the market isn’t likely to be forgiving. The company itself has flagged volatility tied to macro shifts, demand from customers, and how aggressively rivals price.
Some nearer-term markers are coming up. Corning’s stock goes ex-dividend on Feb. 26, with the dividend scheduled for March 30, per the company’s dividend history page.
Investors are eyeing possible updates on orders and margin guidance from management tied to a slate of upcoming events, including Susquehanna’s technology conference set for Feb. 27 and Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media & Telecom conference on March 3, according to the company.
