Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock Rating Upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Cognex from “neutral” to “overweight” and kept a $75 price target, implying about 13.5% upside from the prior close.
• Other analysts remain constructive overall, with Cognex holding a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average $70.43 target price. Recent ratings from UBS, KeyCorp, and Cantor Fitzgerald were also positive.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, with Q1 EPS of $0.34 versus $0.25 expected and revenue of $268.44 million, up 24.3% year over year. Despite the strong results, insiders have been selling shares recently.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday. The brokerage presently has a $75.00 target price on the scientific and technical instruments company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would indicate a potential upside of 13.48% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group set a $75.00 price target on Cognex in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up from $50.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial set a $61.00 target price on Cognex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. DA Davidson set a $62.00 target price on Cognex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognex currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.43.

Cognex Stock Performance

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $66.09 on Tuesday. Cognex has a twelve month low of $29.00 and a twelve month high of $71.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a PE ratio of 78.68 and a beta of 1.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.82.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $268.44 million during 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 firm's revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cognex will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Mark Fennell sold 64,873 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total transaction of $4,349,734.65. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,263 shares in the company, valued at $755,184.15. This represents a 85.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 41,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total value of $2,727,296.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 5,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,714.48. This trade represents a 88.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 204,595 shares of company stock worth $13,631,580. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Cognex by 173,138.2% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 10,477,448 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $376,979,000 after acquiring an additional 10,471,400 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at $73,103,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at $68,388,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Cognex by 18,810.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,794,649 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $56,657,000 after buying an additional 1,785,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Cognex by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,013,184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $252,360,000 after buying an additional 1,529,010 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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