On September 23, Coherent fell 3.05% in regular trading, trading at $299.35/share with turnover of $272 million, extending the prior session's decline. The optical communications sector has been weighed down for a second consecutive day by growing concerns over a potential slowdown in AI compute spending.

The sell-off reflects a broader sector-wide retreat. On the prior trading day, AXT fell nearly 3%, Credo dropped over 2%, and Lumentum and Corning each declined more than 1%. On September 23, Corning continued to slide 2.55% while Vishay Intertechnology fell 3.58%, indicating selling pressure has not yet been fully absorbed. Reports indicate that prominent AI industry leaders have collectively called for slowing frontier AI model development, fueling market fears of reduced cloud capital expenditure on compute infrastructure.

Despite a string of company-specific positives — including the launch of the PhotonLink integrated optics platform, new optical technology demonstrations at ECOC, and Deutsche Bank initiating coverage with Coherent as a top pick — these catalysts have been unable to offset the sector-level risk aversion. Market participants remain cautious about the sector's approximately 77x TTM price-to-earnings ratio and the possibility of a supply-demand reversal beyond the near term.

(The above content is based on publicly available market information, generated by a program or algorithm, and is intended solely as a stock movement alert. It does not constitute investment advice or a basis for trading decisions.)