Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.4286.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $72.00 price target on Cognex in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Truist Financial set a $61.00 price objective on shares of Cognex and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. DA Davidson set a $62.00 price target on shares of Cognex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on Cognex from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th.

Cognex Price Performance

Cognex stock opened at $67.60 on Thursday. Cognex has a fifty-two week low of $29.22 and a fifty-two week high of $71.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.25 billion, a PE ratio of 80.48 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s 50-day moving average is $61.47 and its 200-day moving average is $50.62.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $268.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $245.98 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 13.62%.Cognex’s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Cognex will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.48%.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other Cognex news, insider Mark Fennell sold 64,873 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider directly owned 11,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $755,184.15. This represents a 85.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.34, for a total value of $1,343,517.68. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $264,696.60. This represents a 83.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 224,847 shares of company stock worth $14,975,098 in the last ninety days. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 74.8% in 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. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cognex during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Miller Global Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Cognex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Cognex during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

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.