Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Price Target Raised to $68.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) had its price objective increased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $50.00 to $68.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on CGNX. DA Davidson set a $55.00 target price on shares of Cognex and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Cognex in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $55.00 price objective on Cognex in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Cognex from $47.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognex currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.73.

Cognex Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $57.09 on Tuesday. Cognex has a 1-year low of $22.67 and a 1-year high of $59.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.21 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $40.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.83.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $252.34 million for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cognex will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In related news, Director Robert Willett sold 177,052 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $10,338,066.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 87.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. J. Goldman & Co LP acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,577,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 46,333 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,667,000 after buying an additional 4,290 shares in the last quarter. Jain Global LLC acquired a new stake in Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,927,000. Westerly Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Cognex by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Westerly Capital Management LLC now owns 100,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,598,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Engaged Capital LLC boosted its position in Cognex by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Engaged Capital LLC now owns 933,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,569,000 after acquiring an additional 78,000 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.