Corning: S&P Downgrades Ahead Of Earnings Next Week

Standard & Poor’s telecom analyst Todd Rosenbluth cut his rating on Corning (GLW) to Hold from Buy ahead of the company’s third quarter earnings report, which is due next Wednesday. He slashed his price target on the stock to $15, from $24. Rosenbluth also cut EPS estimates for the company to $1.84 this year and $1.74 next year, from $1.88 and $1.95, respectively. (He is still above consensus, which has the company earning $1.79 this year, and $1.70 next year.) Rosenbluth writes that the reduced outlook reflects his view that “weakness in the global economy has and will further result in demand for smaller, less profitable LCD glass substrates used for TVs and computers.” He also sees “limited gain” for the company’s environmental segment. The Street consensus for Q3 revenue is $1.59 billion, with profits of 44 cents a share. Earlier this month , the company repeated its Q3 forecast for profits of 43-45 cents a share. Corning today is down ... (link)