Coherent Corp. (COHR) shares are having a good morning. The stock jumped 2.84% in premarket trading Thursday, riding the wave of Nvidia's (NVDA) blowout earnings. Nvidia reported better-than-expected second-quarter results and gave an upbeat outlook, and that's got investors excited about artificial intelligence infrastructure again.
It's not just Coherent either. Nasdaq futures are up 0.9%, and S&P 500 futures are up 0.28%. The whole tech complex is feeling the love.
Coherent is the kind of stock that moves with the broader tech sentiment. Because it's so tied to AI and data center spending, it tends to swing more than your average stock when the sector gets a jolt. So when Nvidia says good things, Coherent listens.
Technical Analysis
Let's talk charts. Coherent has been in a longer-term uptrend, even with the recent pullback. Right now, it's trading 11.2% above its 200-day simple moving average, which sits at $272.01. That's a good sign for the bulls.
But here's the catch: it's still 2.6% below its 20-day SMA of $310.52 and 6.5% below its 50-day SMA of $323.49. So the short-term picture is a bit murky. The stock needs to reclaim those levels to really get the rebound going.
The relative strength index is at 46.34, which means momentum is neutral. Not overbought, not oversold. Just kind of hanging out.
One thing to watch: the 20-day SMA is below the 50-day SMA, which is a bearish short-term signal. But the 50-day is still above the 200-day, which keeps the longer-term bullish story intact.
Resistance is near $328, close to that 50-day average. Support is around $255, below the 200-day. If that support breaks, we could see another test of the July low.
Analyst Outlook
Valuation-wise, Coherent isn't cheap. It's trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.4. That's a premium, but investors seem willing to pay it for AI exposure.
Analysts are mostly on board. The consensus rating is Buy, with an average price target of $402.25. That's a nice chunk of upside from current levels.
Jefferies is particularly bullish. They maintained a Buy rating and raised their price target to $420 on Aug. 13. Morgan Stanley is more cautious, keeping an Equal-Weight rating but bumping their target to $375. B. Riley Securities is neutral, with a target of $345.
Top ETF Exposure
If you're looking for indirect exposure, a few ETFs have significant stakes in Coherent. The Corgi Lithography & Semiconductor Photonics ETF (EUV) has a 3.76% weighting. The Spear Alpha ETF (SPRX) is heavier at 7.86%, and the NestYield Dynamic Income ETF (EGGY) has a 4.92% weighting.
That means flows in and out of these funds can create extra buying or selling pressure on Coherent shares. So keep an eye on them if you're watching the stock.
Price Action
As of Thursday's premarket, Coherent shares were up 2.84% to $302.73.
