Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Upgraded by Stephens to Overweight

Stephens upgraded shares of Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. Stephens currently has $55.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $45.00.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on CGNX. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Cognex from $55.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Vertical Research started coverage on Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognex currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX opened at $40.18 on Wednesday. Cognex has a one year low of $34.28 and a one year high of $53.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.28 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.02.

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

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Cognex’s payout ratio is currently 51.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 986.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $68,679,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469,961 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex during the first quarter valued at $58,502,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in Cognex by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,098,711 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $237,812,000 after buying an additional 1,259,116 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in Cognex by 41.4% in the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,716,623 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $157,659,000 after buying an additional 1,088,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Cognex by 132.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,272,640 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $59,509,000 after buying an additional 723,976 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.