Jim Cramer wants to replenish Corning position after July selloff
Cramer said he wants to add back to the Club’s Corning stake after prior trims and a 45% July pullback, though no completed trade was disclosed.
By Maya Okafor · Markets Writer
· 3 min read
Jim Cramer’s Corning stock call centers on a position his CNBC Investing Club had already reduced. At the Club’s Monday morning meeting, Cramer said he wanted to “replenish” its holding in Corning, the fiber-optics company, after the stock’s 45% pullback in July, CNBC reported.
For investors following the headline, the key distinction is that Cramer described an intention, not a completed purchase. CNBC’s report did not disclose a trade size, price or confirmation that the Club had bought more shares. Here, “replenish” suggests rebuilding part of the position after the Club trimmed Corning three times in June.
Corning trades under the ticker GLW. CNBC said Cramer’s charitable trust, the portfolio associated with the Investing Club, held the shares when the report was published.
Why does Cramer see Corning as a data-center stock?
Corning makes fiber-optic cables used in data centers, according to CNBC. The company markets fiber-optic trunk cables, modular patch systems and data-center interconnect products for enterprise, cloud and multitenant facilities, according to Corning.
Cramer has presented Corning as a longer-term beneficiary of data-center construction. In a May CNBC appearance, he said Corning Chief Executive Wendell Weeks had argued during a visit to the company’s Kentucky facility that fiber optics could increasingly replace copper in data centers because of speed, cybersecurity and durability. That was Cramer’s investment view, rather than a forecast of business results.
Corning has continued to introduce products aimed at AI data-center networks. In March, the company said it would display new fiber, cable, connector and co-packaged-optics offerings at an industry conference. Corning described co-packaged optics as technology that brings fiber to the chip, and said it could support faster data transmission, higher bandwidth density and better energy efficiency.
What changed for Corning after the June trims?
CNBC said the Club upgraded Corning to its buy-equivalent 1 rating in the week before Cramer’s comments. Cramer dismissed what he saw as a short-term reaction to Corning’s most recent earnings report, arguing that investors should take a longer view of the company.
Truist also upgraded Corning to buy, CNBC reported, while lowering its price target to $175 from $205. The firm said it had been waiting for a more reasonable entry point following the July decline.
The stance stands out against a broader shift Cramer described in late July. He said investors were taking profits in some AI-infrastructure winners and moving into companies with growth drivers less tied to the data-center buildout, according to CNBC. He nevertheless said he did not expect spending on that buildout to collapse.
For Corning shareholders, the immediate takeaway is narrower: Cramer still favors the company’s data-center connection and said he would like the Club to rebuild its stake. The report does not establish when, or whether, that additional buying will occur.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.
