Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Needham & Company LLC Analyst Says

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC raised its price target for Cognex stock from $36 to $45, indicating a potential upside of 10.38% from the previous close.
• Other analysts have given mixed ratings with one sell, seven holds, seven buys, and one strong buy, leading to a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $41.69.
• In its most recent earnings report, Cognex reported an EPS of $0.25, beating estimates, with revenues increasing by 4.2% year-over-year to $249.09 million.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Free Report) had its price objective raised by Needham & Company LLC from $36.00 to $45.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the scientific and technical instruments company's stock.

CGNX has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Cognex from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. KeyCorp upgraded Cognex from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Cognex from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Cognex from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.31.

Cognex Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $41.84. 2,231,785 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,105,638. The stock has a market cap of $7.03 billion, a PE ratio of 58.93 and a beta of 1.47. Cognex has a one year low of $22.67 and a one year high of $44.17. The business's fifty day moving average is $32.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.76.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $249.09 million during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cognex will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. Cognex's payout ratio is currently 45.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Cognex by 31.5% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,223 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Cognex by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 11,591 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Cognex by 1.8% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 24,301 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its position in Cognex by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 3,267 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Cognex Company Profile

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.