Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Down 3.3% – Time to Sell?

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX)’s stock price traded down 3.3% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $59.77 and last traded at $59.9460. 173,795 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 2,147,808 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson set a $65.00 target price on shares of Cognex and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Cognex from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Cognex from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.64.

Cognex Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.29. The stock has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a PE ratio of 57.08 and a beta of 1.49.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.03. Cognex had a net margin of 16.05% and a return on equity of 13.50%. The company had revenue of $291.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Cognex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.640-1.680 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.540 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognex Corporation will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.085 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Cognex’s payout ratio is presently 33.01%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 21.6% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 0.5% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,853 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,952,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its position in Cognex by 3.2% during the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 6,793 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,073 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essential Partners LLC raised its position in Cognex by 12.5% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 2,153 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cognex Company Profile

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ: CGNX) develops machine vision technologies that help businesses automate inspection, identification, measurement and guidance tasks. Its systems enable manufacturing and logistics operations to analyze images and make decisions about products, components and packages.

The company’s product portfolio includes industrial cameras, vision sensors, barcode readers, three-dimensional vision systems and machine vision software. Cognex also offers artificial intelligence and deep-learning tools designed to address complex inspection and classification applications, along with engineering, implementation and support services.

Founded in 1981 by Robert J.