Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Cognex an average recommendation of Moderate Buy from 16 firms (8 buys, 7 holds, 1 strong buy) with a one‑year average target of $59.50, and several brokers recently raised targets (Goldman to $68, Barclays to $64, UBS $70).
• Cognex beat last quarter's estimates, reporting $0.27 EPS vs. $0.22 expected and revenue of $252.34M vs. $238.92M, with revenue up 9.9% year‑over‑year.
• Insiders sold 196,083 shares (~$11.42M) in the last quarter—including a 177,052‑share sale by a director—while insiders own 1.70% of the stock and institutions own 88.12%.

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $59.50.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Cognex from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Cognex from $50.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Cognex from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other Cognex news, Director Robert Willett sold 177,052 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction 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 Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total value of $850,597.96. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,437.92. This trade represents a 87.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 196,083 shares of company stock valued at $11,419,321 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,073 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 22,907 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,132 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 14,611 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,651 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognex Trading Down 2.4%

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $53.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.98 billion, a PE ratio of 80.22 and a beta of 1.47. Cognex has a twelve month low of $26.14 and a twelve month high of $59.88. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.72.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $252.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $238.92 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 11.51%.The company's revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.16 EPS. Research analysts predict that Cognex will post 0.97 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 26th. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.75%.

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.

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