Corning (GLW) shares surged 6.12% in pre-market trading on Friday, extending a multi-day rebound as the broader optical communications sector rallied and analysts expressed renewed bullishness on the stock.

The sharp move came amid strengthening in the U.S. optical communications sector, with peers like Coherent, Lumen Technologies, and Lumentum also posting gains. Truist Securities recently upgraded Corning from Hold to Buy with a $175 price target, noting that after an approximately 45% pullback in July, the stock's valuation has returned to reasonable levels. The analyst projects earnings per share to grow at a 30% compound annual growth rate through 2029, suggesting further upside.

Corning's strong second-quarter results also underpinned the positive sentiment. Core sales rose 17% to $4.74 billion, beating consensus, while enterprise-network sales jumped 65% as generative-AI-related revenue doubled. UBS maintained its Buy rating, arguing the recent selloff was overdone given the company's optical margins and long-term earnings visibility.