Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

CGNX has been the subject of several other reports. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Cognex from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Cognex from $47.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Cognex from $50.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.21.

Cognex Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX opened at $56.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.63 and a beta of 1.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $41.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.13. Cognex has a 1-year low of $22.67 and a 1-year high of $59.88.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $252.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.92 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 11.51%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Cognex will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 26th will be issued a $0.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Willett sold 177,052 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $10,338,066.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total transaction of $850,597.96. Following the sale, the vice president owned 2,212 shares in the company, valued at $126,437.92. The trade was a 87.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,598,728 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $842,522,000 after acquiring an additional 374,999 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Cognex by 173,138.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 10,477,448 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $376,979,000 after purchasing an additional 10,471,400 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Cognex by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,101,583 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $292,224,000 after buying an additional 76,212 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Cognex by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,013,184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $252,360,000 after buying an additional 1,529,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Cognex by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,314,896 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $191,231,000 after buying an additional 1,258,629 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Cognex News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cognex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat and revenue beat reinforced momentum; investors are reacting to accelerating sales and profit improvements. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are raising earnings estimates, which typically supports higher share prices as future EPS expectations improve. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Sell-side and independent outlets are upbeat: a Goldman Sachs analyst is forecasting further upside, and Zacks upgraded CGNX to a “strong-buy,” adding institutional credibility. Read More. | Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage in robotics/AI roundup pieces highlights Cognex as an overlooked beneficiary of automation tailwinds, which can attract momentum traders. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presentations at industry conferences increase investor access to guidance and strategy but do not by themselves change fundamentals. Read More. | Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary is mixed on valuation/timing — several articles ask whether buying after a ~70% rally is sensible, prompting caution among new buyers. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data in the feed appears inconsistent/zeroed out and is not a reliable signal at present (no clear days-to-cover pressure).
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and recent run-up increase downside risk: CGNX trades at a high P/E and near its 52-week high, which could prompt profit-taking if growth expectations slip or macro sentiment weakens.

Cognex Company Profile

Cognex Corporation is a leading provider of machine vision systems, software, sensors and industrial barcode readers used to automate manufacturing, logistics and distribution processes. The company designs and develops vision-based products that help manufacturers and logistics operators inspect, identify and guide parts, assemblies and packaged goods in real time. Its solutions are applied in a broad range of industries, including automotive, electronics, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and general manufacturing.

The company’s product portfolio includes stand-alone vision systems, vision sensors and deep learning-based software platforms that enable automated inspection, quality control and traceability.