The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock

Key Points

• The Goldman Sachs Group has raised its price target on Cognex from $36.00 to $40.00, though it maintains a "sell" rating, indicating a potential downside of 8.91% from current prices.
• Other analysts have varied opinions: Citigroup set a target price of $37.00, while KeyCorp upgraded to $50.00, leading to an average consensus target of $43.07.
• Cognex recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.25, surpassing expectations, with a forecast of $0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) had its price target boosted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a sell rating on the scientific and technical instruments company's stock.

CGNX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $37.00 price objective (up previously from $30.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Melius upgraded Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Cognex in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Cognex from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Cognex from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.07.

Cognex Price Performance

Cognex stock traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $46.48. 4,087,841 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,874,878. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $40.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.48. The company has a market capitalization of $7.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.47 and a beta of 1.50. Cognex has a 12-month low of $22.67 and a 12-month high of $46.52.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. Cognex had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 13.13%.The business had revenue of $249.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $246.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Cognex has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.240-0.290 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Cognex will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio is 45.07%.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other news, EVP Sheila Marie Dipalma sold 2,002 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $90,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $386,190. This represents a 18.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cognex during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Cognex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cognex by 439.4% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Cognex by 155.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation provides machine vision products that capture and analyze visual information to automate manufacturing and distribution tasks worldwide. Its machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing and tracking of discrete items, including mobile phones, electric vehicle batteries, and e-commerce packages by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them during the manufacturing or distribution process.