AlphaQuest LLC Reduces Stake in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its position in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 66.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,270 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 31,960 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Cognex by 13.4% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,025,371 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $361,382,000 after purchasing an additional 949,599 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 43.9% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,024,355 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $137,003,000 after purchasing an additional 922,149 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Cognex by 121.5% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,990 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 7,126 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 49.1% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 62,525 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,983,000 after buying an additional 20,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors bought a new position in Cognex in the 2nd quarter worth $204,000. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CGNX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $45.00 price target on Cognex in a report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, October 31st. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, DA Davidson set a $38.00 target price on shares of Cognex and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.64.

Cognex Stock Up 2.7%

Cognex stock opened at $40.85 on Wednesday. Cognex Corporation has a 52-week low of $22.67 and a 52-week high of $49.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $38.15 and its 200 day moving average is $40.90. The company has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.83 and a beta of 1.53.

Cognex Company 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.