Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Upgraded to “Overweight” by Stephens

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) was upgraded by stock analysts at Stephens from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. The firm presently has a $55.00 target price on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $45.00. Stephens’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 38.57% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on CGNX. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Cognex from $55.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Cognex from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Vertical Research began coverage on shares of Cognex in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.00.

Cognex Trading Down 1.1 %

CGNX opened at $39.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.04. Cognex has a 1 year low of $34.28 and a 1 year high of $53.13. The stock has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.43 and a beta of 1.41.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.03. Cognex had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 4.97%. The firm had revenue of $239.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $240.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cognex will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at $249,922.80. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,950.80. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,922.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognex by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,334,064 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $723,524,000 after buying an additional 203,149 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at $239,000. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 1,239.7% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 777 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 94.4% during the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Cognex by 4.2% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 11,514 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Cognex

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.