Corning (GLW) shares surged 5.07% during Monday's intraday trading session, reversing a brutal July that saw the optical networking stock lose 46% of its value. The sharp rally came after Truist Securities upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold, with analyst Matthew Niknam setting a new price target of $175, implying approximately 27% upside from prior levels.

"Simply put, we have waited for a more reasonable entry point to get more constructive, and we now have one post a ~45% pullback in July," Niknam wrote in a note to clients. The upgrade is underpinned by expectations of firm customer spending in Corning's optical segment, accelerating revenue growth, expanding operating margins, and an estimated 30% compound annual earnings growth rate through 2029. The firm highlighted that the selloff was overdone and that long-term demand from AI data center fiber and hyperscaler capex remains intact.

Corning's optical segment, which accounts for about 45% of sales, is seen as the primary growth driver, and the recent pullback offered what Truist called a "more reasonable entry point" for investors. Despite the July slump, the stock remains up 56% year-to-date and has more than doubled over the past 12 months, as Wall Street continues to bet on its central role in the AI infrastructure buildout.