Amundi Trims Stock Position in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Key Points

• Amundi reduced its Cognex stake by 24.2% in the first quarter, selling 24,093 shares and retaining 75,500 shares valued at approximately $3.7 million. Institutional investors still own 88.12% of the company.
• Cognex reported quarterly EPS of $0.45, beating expectations, while revenue rose 16.9% year over year to $291.3 million but narrowly missed consensus. The company raised its third-quarter and full-year 2026 guidance.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with Cognex rated “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.31. Shares trade at a relatively high P/E ratio of 65.42, while the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.085 per share.

Amundi trimmed its holdings in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 24.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 24,093 shares during the period. Amundi's holdings in Cognex were worth $3,699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 200,351 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $5,976,000 after buying an additional 23,326 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cognex in the 1st quarter worth about $291,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 9,223 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,208 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on CGNX shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Cognex from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $72.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Cognex from $61.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $62.00 price objective on Cognex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognex presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.31.

Trending Headlines about Cognex

Here are the key news stories impacting Cognex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter adjusted EPS was $0.45, above the $0.42 analyst consensus and up from $0.25 a year earlier. Revenue reached a record $291.3 million, rising 16.9% year over year, while net income increased sharply. Margin improvement, favorable product mix, and cost controls supported the earnings beat. Cognex Q2 Earnings Beat on Margin Gains Despite Revenue Miss
• Positive Sentiment: Cognex raised its outlook. Third-quarter revenue guidance of $300 million to $320 million and EPS guidance of $0.50 to $0.54 are well above consensus estimates of $279.2 million and $0.37, respectively. Full-year 2026 EPS guidance was raised to $1.64-$1.68, versus the prior analyst estimate of $1.48, with revenue projected at $1.13-$1.15 billion. Cognex Corporation 2026 Q2 Results Earnings Call Presentation
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.085 per share, payable September 3 to shareholders of record August 20. The payout provides a modest shareholder return, although the reported yield is approximately 0.5%. Cognex Delivers Record Q2 Results and Raises Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Management attributed growth to broad-based strength across most major end markets, which supports the recovery outlook for Cognex’s industrial machine-vision business. However, investors will look for this momentum to translate into sustained revenue growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue narrowly missed the $292.1 million consensus estimate. For a stock trading at a relatively high earnings multiple, even a small top-line miss may outweigh the EPS beat and strong forward guidance. Cognex Misses Q2 CY2026 Revenue Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Reported insider activity showed company insiders selling shares without recorded purchases during the past six months. While such sales may reflect routine diversification, they can add to investor caution following the earnings release.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $67.38 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $64.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.42 and a beta of 1.49. Cognex Corporation has a 12 month low of $34.60 and a 12 month high of $72.88.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.03. Cognex had a return on equity of 13.82% and a net margin of 16.05%.The company had revenue of $291.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.10 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. Cognex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.640-1.680 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.540 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognex Corporation will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.085 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Cognex's payout ratio is currently 40.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognex news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 41,600 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,258 shares of the company's stock, valued at $344,714.48. This represents a 88.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 3,990 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $264,696.60. This trade represents a 83.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 224,847 shares of company stock worth $14,975,098 in the last three months. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cognex 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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