Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) Short Interest Down 27.3% in February

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,996,707 shares, a drop of 27.3% from the January 29th total of 6,868,499 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,497,097 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,497,097 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Cognex Trading Down 0.9%

CGNX stock traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $53.90. 952,603 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,302,737. Cognex has a 52-week low of $22.67 and a 52-week high of $59.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.41 and its 200-day moving average is $42.65. The company has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.65 and a beta of 1.53.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $252.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.92 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 11.51%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Cognex will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 26th will be paid a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. Cognex’s payout ratio is presently 50.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CGNX. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Cognex from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 18th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cognex in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. DA Davidson set a $55.00 price objective on Cognex and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $55.00 target price on Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total value of $850,597.96. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,437.92. This represents a 87.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Willett sold 177,052 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $10,338,066.28. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 196,083 shares of company stock worth $11,419,321. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 318,984 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $14,450,000 after buying an additional 37,405 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Cognex by 13.4% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,025,371 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $361,382,000 after purchasing an additional 949,599 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Cognex by 43.9% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,024,355 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $137,003,000 after purchasing an additional 922,149 shares during the period. IMC Chicago LLC bought a new stake in Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth about $5,761,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Cognex by 203.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 266,954 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $12,093,000 after purchasing an additional 178,911 shares during the last quarter. 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.