Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Cognex received an average analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 16 brokerages, with an average 1-year price target of $72.00.
• The company recently posted strong quarterly results, reporting EPS of $0.34 versus estimates of $0.25 and revenue of $268.44 million, while revenue rose 24.3% year over year.
• Cognex also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.085 per share, and insiders have sold shares in recent months, including VP Laura Ann Macdonald and insider Mark Fennell.

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $72.00.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CGNX shares. UBS Group set a $75.00 price target on Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Cognex from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price objective (up from $64.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $68.00 target price (up from $60.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Cognex from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $66.80 on Monday. Cognex has a one year low of $32.55 and a one year high of $72.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $64.99 and a 200-day moving average of $53.57. The company has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a PE ratio of 79.52 and a beta of 1.49.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $268.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $245.98 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 13.62%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cognex will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. Cognex's payout ratio is presently 40.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 41,600 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total transaction of $2,727,296.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 5,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,714.48. The trade was a 88.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark Fennell sold 64,873 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total value of $4,349,734.65. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,263 shares in the company, valued at $755,184.15. The trade was a 85.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 224,847 shares of company stock valued at $14,975,098 in the last three months. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 13.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 200,351 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 23,326 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Cognex during the first quarter valued at approximately $291,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Cognex by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 47,444 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,415,000 after buying an additional 9,223 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Cognex by 402.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Cognex by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,208 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

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.

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