Syon Capital LLC Invests $440,000 in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Syon Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,718 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $440,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Cognex by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 318,984 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $14,450,000 after purchasing an additional 37,405 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 13.4% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,025,371 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $361,382,000 after purchasing an additional 949,599 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 43.9% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,024,355 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $137,003,000 after purchasing an additional 922,149 shares in the last quarter. IMC Chicago LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex in the third quarter worth $5,761,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 203.2% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 266,954 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $12,093,000 after buying an additional 178,911 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,437.92. This represents a 87.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Willett sold 177,052 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $10,338,066.28. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cognex Stock Up 0.2%

CGNX stock opened at $56.03 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.14. Cognex Corporation has a 12 month low of $22.67 and a 12 month high of $59.88. The company has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.63 and a beta of 1.53.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 9.02%. Cognex’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CGNX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Cognex from $50.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 13th. DA Davidson set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.21.

More 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.

About Cognex

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.