Coherent (COHR) Stock Surges to All-Time High on AI Optics Boom

TLDR

• Coherent Corp (COHR) hit an all-time high of $427.29, up ~17.7% Tuesday, driven by NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s bullish comments on optical interconnects in AI data centers.
• Marvell Technology (MRVL) grabbed the headlines with a 25% jump, but Coherent — which actually makes the optical transceivers — quietly notched a new all-time high.
• Coherent reported Q3 fiscal 2026 revenue of $1.81 billion, up 21% year-over-year, with book-to-bill ratios in data center products exceeding 4x in recent quarters.
• NVIDIA made a $2 billion strategic equity investment in Coherent in early 2026, including multi-year purchase commitments.
• COHR is up roughly 126% year-to-date and has surged approximately 455% from its 52-week low of $76.88.

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Coherent Corp (COHR) quietly stole the show on Tuesday. While traders piled into Marvell Technology after NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang praised optical interconnects, Coherent — the company that actually builds the transceivers — hit a new all-time high of $427.29, up nearly 18%.

Coherent, Inc., COHR

The move came on elevated volume. COHR closed the session up 17.74%, according to Benzinga Pro, pushing its market cap above $83 billion.

Huang’s comments came during a high-profile appearance where he stated that data centers are being “rewired around optical interconnects.” The remarks sent ripples through AI infrastructure stocks, with Marvell jumping 25% and Coherent close behind.

Marvell, with a market cap of around $241 billion, is the name most AI investors already hold. Coherent, at roughly $65.76 billion, tends to fly under the radar — even though its direct revenue exposure to AI optical demand is just as real.

The gap in attention is worth noting. Marvell makes custom silicon and optical networking chips. Coherent manufactures the physical optical transceivers and components that go inside those data center racks. When Huang says the data center is being rewired around optical interconnects, that is a Coherent story too.

The Numbers Behind the Rally

Coherent’s fiscal third quarter, ended March 2026, showed revenue of $1.81 billion, up 21% from the prior year. The data center segment has been the engine, driven by 800G transceiver shipments and early volumes of emerging 1.6T products.

Book-to-bill ratios in data center products have exceeded 4x in recent quarters, pointing to a substantial order backlog and strong revenue visibility going forward.

Earlier in 2026, NVIDIA made a $2 billion strategic equity investment in Coherent, including multi-year purchase commitments. That deal, more than almost anything else, validated the company’s position in next-generation AI optics.

For the nine months ended March 2026, Coherent posted revenue of $5.07 billion. Gross margins have been improving as the company scales its indium phosphide and silicon photonics platforms. The stock was added to the S&P 500 earlier in 2026, drawing additional buying from index funds.

Analyst Targets and Price History

Wall Street has been warming to the name, though the consensus has struggled to keep up with the stock. The three most recent analyst ratings — from TD Cowen, Rosenblatt, and Stifel, all in May — carry an average price target of $410.67, which now sits below where the stock is trading.

The 52-week range tells the full story. COHR was at $76.88 a year ago. Tuesday’s close near $427 represents a gain of roughly 455% from that trough.

Year-to-date, the stock is up approximately 126%, compared to a gain of about 10.8% for the S&P 500 over the same period. Over the past month alone, COHR has added around 22.9%, versus a 5.5% rise in the broader index.

The next catalyst will likely come from management at the next earnings update, where investors will look for hard data on hyperscaler transceiver shipment volumes and any updates on the NVIDIA partnership.