UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS Group has increased its price target for Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) from $53.00 to $58.00, indicating a potential upside of 43.89% from the stock's previous close.
• Recently, other firms including Needham & Company and Citigroup have also revised their ratings and price objectives, contributing to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $42.08.
• Cognex reported a $0.25 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, with a revenue increase of 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at UBS Group from $53.00 to $58.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the scientific and technical instruments company's stock. UBS Group's target price would suggest a potential upside of 43.89% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Cognex from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $37.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday, July 14th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Cowen raised Cognex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Cognex from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.08.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of CGNX traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $40.31. The stock had a trading volume of 1,714,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,092,419. The firm has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.68 and a beta of 1.47. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $31.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.81. Cognex has a 12-month low of $22.67 and a 12-month high of $44.17.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.02. Cognex had a return on equity of 6.64% and a net margin of 13.13%. The company had revenue of $249.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $246.70 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cognex will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 51.3% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 48,640 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,451,000 after buying an additional 16,489 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 155.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 7.4% during the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,698 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cognex during the first quarter valued at approximately $369,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 457,636 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $16,411,000 after buying an additional 14,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

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