110,240 Shares in Cognex Corporation $CGNX Purchased by Castleark Management LLC

Key Points

• Castleark Management purchased 110,240 Cognex shares worth approximately $5.4 million, while institutional investors collectively owned 88.12% of the company.
• Cognex reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.34 versus the $0.25 consensus and revenue up 24.3% year over year to $268.44 million. The company guided for second-quarter EPS of $0.40–$0.44.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with Cognex carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $72.31 versus a recent share price of $61.29; however, insiders sold about $15.0 million of stock during the latest quarter.

Castleark Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 110,240 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $5,401,000. Castleark Management LLC owned 0.07% of Cognex at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 124.5% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 98,451 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $3,542,000 after buying an additional 54,600 shares during the last quarter. One Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Cognex during the fourth quarter valued at $1,945,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Cognex by 76.3% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 758,831 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $27,303,000 after acquiring an additional 328,427 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Cognex in the fourth quarter worth $753,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,152,053 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $41,451,000 after acquiring an additional 114,652 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognex news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 41,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total transaction of $2,727,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 5,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,714.48. The trade was a 88.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.34, for a total value of $1,343,517.68. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,990 shares in the company, valued at $264,696.60. The trade was a 83.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 224,847 shares of company stock valued at $14,975,098. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $61.29 on Tuesday. Cognex Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.45 and a 1 year high of $72.88. The company has a market cap of $10.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.96 and a beta of 1.49. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $64.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.62.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $268.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.98 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 13.62%.Cognex's revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognex Corporation will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. Cognex's payout ratio is presently 40.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CGNX shares. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, May 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Cognex from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.31.

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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