Bayforest Capital Ltd Takes Position in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired 7,601 shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ: CGNX), totaling approximately $227,000, as indicated in their recent Form 13F filing.
• Cognex reported earnings of $0.25 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, and saw a 4.2% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• An upcoming quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share has been declared, representing a 0.8% yield and is set to be paid on August 28th.

Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 7,601 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 439.4% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Cognex by 105.5% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,280 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Cognex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Melius upgraded shares of Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Cognex from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Cognex from $37.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Cowen upgraded Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Cognex from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.31.

Cognex Stock Performance

NASDAQ CGNX traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $41.43. 2,374,416 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,151,231. The company has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.35 and a beta of 1.47. The company's 50-day moving average is $32.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.76. Cognex Corporation has a one year low of $22.67 and a one year high of $44.17.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $249.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $246.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. Cognex's payout ratio is currently 45.07%.

Cognex Company Profile

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.