Bayforest Capital Ltd Invests $227,000 in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd has invested $227,000 in Cognex Corporation, acquiring 7,601 shares of the company.
• Institutional investors collectively own 88.12% of Cognex's stock, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Cognex recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.25, exceeding estimates, along with a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share.

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

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CGNX. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 126.2% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,609,802 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $137,510,000 after buying an additional 2,571,457 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 32.0% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,082,319 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $181,436,000 after buying an additional 1,474,832 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 16,472.8% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 819,028 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $24,432,000 after buying an additional 814,086 shares during the period. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex during the 1st quarter valued at $22,191,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,539,557 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $75,756,000 after buying an additional 647,955 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sheila Marie Dipalma sold 2,002 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $90,090.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $386,190. The trade was a 18.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

CGNX remained flat at $44.24 during trading on Wednesday. 186,078 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,077,483. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.25 and a beta of 1.50. Cognex Corporation has a 12-month low of $22.67 and a 12-month high of $45.23. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.20.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $249.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $246.70 million. Cognex had a net margin of 13.13% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. Cognex has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.240-0.290 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Cognex's payout ratio is presently 45.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CGNX. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Cognex from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Melius raised shares of Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. KeyCorp raised shares of Cognex from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Cognex from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.07.

About Cognex

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.