Wesbanco Bank Inc. Acquires New Stake in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Key Points

• Wesbanco Bank Inc. disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Cognex, buying 19,000 shares valued at about $684,000.
• Cognex reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $0.34 and revenue of $268.4 million, both topping estimates and revenue rising 24.3% year over year.
• The company also issued bullish Q2 guidance and a small quarterly dividend, while analysts have mostly turned constructive with several price targets raised to $75.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 19,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $684,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CGNX. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in Cognex during the third quarter valued at $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Cognex during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in Cognex during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Angelos Papadimitriou sold 4,150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.58, for a total value of $230,657.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,222 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $901,618.76. The trade was a 20.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total value of $850,597.96. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $126,437.92. This trade represents a 87.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 196,083 shares of company stock valued at $11,419,321. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $65.66 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $52.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.20. Cognex Corporation has a 12-month low of $29.00 and a 12-month high of $71.90. The firm has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.17 and a beta of 1.48.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Cognex had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 13.62%.The firm had revenue of $268.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Cognex Corporation will post 0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

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

Key Headlines Impacting Cognex

Here are the key news stories impacting Cognex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cognex reported Q1 earnings of $0.34 per share, beating estimates, while revenue came in at $268.4 million, also above expectations and up 24.3% year over year.
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued bullish Q2 guidance for EPS of $0.40 to $0.44 and revenue of $280 million to $300 million, signaling continued demand strength in automation and logistics.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more constructive after the report: Needham raised its price target to $75 and kept a Buy rating, while Stephens also lifted its target to $75 with an Overweight rating.
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s new AI-powered In-Sight systems and broad-based demand strength are reinforcing the view that Cognex can sustain growth and margin expansion.
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target to $65 but maintained a Neutral rating, suggesting some analysts still see limited upside after the recent run-up. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.085 per share, a modest positive for income-focused investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CGNX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Cognex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird set a $72.00 price objective on Cognex in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Cognex from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.21.

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.

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