When NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang said data centers are being rewired around optical interconnects, most traders ran straight to Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL).
Meanwhile, Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR) quietly hit a new all-time high, and it’s playing the exact same trade.
- COHR stock is at all-time highs. See the chart and price action here.
Optical Trade is on Fire
Huang’s bullish commentary on AI infrastructure — and specifically on the accelerating demand for high-speed optical connectivity inside hyperscale data centers — sent Marvell flying 25% and Coherent up 16% on Tuesday.
Huang’s remarks reinforced what the optical transceiver trade has been pricing in for months: AI clusters are growing faster and require more bandwidth than anyone modeled a year ago.
Marvell, as one of the most visible names in custom silicon and optical networking, got the headlines from Huang.
Coherent, which manufactures the actual optical transceivers and components that make those data center interconnects work, got the all-time high.
The asymmetry in investors' attention is worth pausing on.
Marvell is a $241.28 billion market cap name that every AI infrastructure investor already has in a model.
Coherent is a $65.76 billion company that tends to get overlooked in the same conversation — even though its revenue exposure to AI optical demand is just as direct.
When Huang says the data center is being rewired around optical interconnects, that’s not just a Marvell headline. It’s a Coherent headline, too.
Expert Ideas
Wall Street has been quietly building conviction in Coherent.
The three most-recent analyst ratings were released by TD Cowen, Rosenblatt and Stifel in May and hold an average price target of $410.67 between them.
The average price target of $247.58 actually sits well below where the stock is trading now, meaning the most aggressive bulls had their numbers right and the consensus still hasn’t caught up.
The 52-week range says everything: COHR was trading as low as $76.88 a year ago. Tuesday’s $426.67 mark is a 455% run from that trough.
The next real test is whether management can back up the multiple in the next earnings update with hard data on hyperscaler transceiver volumes.
COHR Stock Price Activity: Coherent stock was up 17.74% at $427.29 at the time of publication on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro.
Over the past month, COHR has gained about 22.9% versus a 5.5% rise in the S&P 500 and is up roughly 126% year-to-date compared to the index’s 10.8% gain. The stock is trading at new 52-week highs.
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