Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Down 11.4% After Earnings Miss

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) fell 11.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $35.54 and last traded at $34.77. 694,870 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 1,107,339 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.25.

The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a return on equity of 5.28% and a net margin of 10.10%.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Cognex from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognex has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other Cognex news, Director Anthony Sun sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total transaction of $1,040,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 26,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,065,118.24. This trade represents a 49.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $110,758.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Cognex by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,784,239 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $72,262,000 after acquiring an additional 87,790 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Cognex in the third quarter worth approximately $790,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd lifted its stake in Cognex by 255.1% in the third quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 24,854 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after buying an additional 17,854 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,386,973 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $56,172,000 after buying an additional 77,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cognex by 116.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 789,550 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $31,977,000 after buying an additional 423,950 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.55 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $37.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.22.

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.