Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $72.00.

CGNX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Cognex from $61.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Cognex from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th.

Cognex Stock Performance

CGNX opened at $66.80 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $64.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.57. Cognex has a 1 year low of $32.55 and a 1 year high of $72.88. The stock has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.52 and a beta of 1.49.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $268.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. The business’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, sell-side analysts forecast that Cognex will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a $0.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognex news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 98,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total value of $6,554,549.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 5,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $351,234.40. The trade was a 94.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Mark Fennell sold 64,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 11,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $755,184.15. This trade represents a 85.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 224,847 shares of company stock valued at $14,975,098 over the last three months. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Cognex by 13.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 200,351 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 23,326 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Cognex during the first quarter valued at approximately $291,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cognex by 24.1% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 47,444 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 9,223 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Cognex by 402.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 7.5% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,208 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cognex

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.