Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock Picked Up by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies initiated coverage of Cognex with a Buy rating and a $64 price target, implying about 26% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Cognex has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $71, though recent ratings and targets vary.
• Cognex reported quarterly EPS of $0.53, slightly above estimates, while revenue was just below expectations; revenue grew 13% year over year.

Equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating and a $64.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 25.98% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Cognex from $74.00 to $57.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Cognex from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Cognex from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of Cognex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Cognex from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.00.

Cognex Stock Performance

Cognex stock opened at $50.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.52 and a beta of 1.49. Cognex has a 52-week low of $34.60 and a 52-week high of $72.88. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $58.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. Cognex had a net margin of 21.50% and a return on equity of 15.75%. The company had revenue of $313.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cognex will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cognex during the second quarter valued at about $1,158,123,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,985,986 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $363,002,000 after acquiring an additional 156,108 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 2nd quarter worth about $161,425,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Cognex by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,227,288 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $135,085,000 after acquiring an additional 11,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Cognex by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,660,411 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $130,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190,434 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation develops machine vision products that help businesses automate the inspection, identification and measurement of manufactured goods and packages. Its offerings include vision systems, barcode readers, vision sensors and software that analyze images captured during production and logistics operations. The company's technology is used in industries such as automotive, electronics, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and logistics. Applications include checking product quality, guiding robots and reading codes on items moving through manufacturing and distribution facilities.

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