Electron Capital Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Key Points

• Electron Capital Partners increased its Cognex position by 4.2% in the first quarter, adding 35,630 shares to own 888,614 shares valued at approximately $43.5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 88.12% of CGNX.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $72.31, while individual targets range from $62 to $80.
• Cognex exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.34 in adjusted earnings per share versus a $0.25 estimate and revenue of $268.44 million, up 24.3% year over year. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.085 per share, though insiders sold roughly $15.0 million of stock over the past three months.

Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 888,614 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 35,630 shares during the period. Cognex makes up about 1.7% of Electron Capital Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Electron Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.53% of Cognex worth $43,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Cognex in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 74.8% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 764 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognex by 402.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 202.7% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on CGNX. DA Davidson set a $62.00 target price on Cognex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $72.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Cognex from $61.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.31.

Cognex Stock Performance

Cognex stock opened at $61.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.96 and a beta of 1.49. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $64.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.62. Cognex Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.45 and a 1 year high of $72.88.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other news, insider Mark Fennell sold 64,873 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was 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 owned 11,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at $755,184.15. This trade represents a 85.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 41,600 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total value of $2,727,296.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 5,258 shares in the company, valued at $344,714.48. This represents a 88.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 224,847 shares of company stock valued at $14,975,098 in the last three months. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Cognex

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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