AXQ Capital LP Takes $685,000 Position in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Key Points

• AXQ Capital LP disclosed a new stake in Cognex Corporation, buying 19,031 shares valued at about $685,000 in the fourth quarter.
• Cognex reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.34 and revenue of $268.44 million, both above estimates; revenue also rose 24.3% year over year.
• Despite recent insider selling, Wall Street sentiment remains positive: JPMorgan upgraded the stock to Overweight, and analysts have an average price target of about $70.43.

AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 19,031 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $685,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Cognex by 173,138.2% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 10,471,400 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Cognex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,103,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 1,785,159 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised 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 worth $252,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Cognex by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,950,299 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $142,154,000 after purchasing an additional 842,783 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.34, for a total transaction of $1,343,517.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 3,990 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $264,696.60. This represents a 83.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mark Fennell sold 64,873 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total value of $4,349,734.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,263 shares in the company, valued at $755,184.15. This trade represents a 85.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 224,847 shares of company stock worth $14,975,098. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cognex Trading Down 0.0%

CGNX stock opened at $66.06 on Thursday. Cognex Corporation has a 1-year low of $29.22 and a 1-year high of $71.90. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $57.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.99 billion, a PE ratio of 78.64 and a beta of 1.52.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $268.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.98 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 13.62%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 1.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Cognex's payout ratio is 40.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CGNX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Cognex from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $68.00 price target (up from $60.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, May 8th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, February 13th. DA Davidson set a $62.00 price target on shares of Cognex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $75.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, May 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.43.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CGNX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report).

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.