Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.20.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CGNX. Robert W. Baird set a $45.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Cognex from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. DA Davidson set a $38.00 price target on Cognex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Cognex in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, October 31st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Willett sold 6,704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total value of $331,915.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sheila Marie Dipalma sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.03, for a total transaction of $90,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,582 shares in the company, valued at $296,387.46. This trade represents a 23.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,706 shares of company stock worth $512,065. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Cognex by 148.5% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,075,772 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $223,594,000 after purchasing an additional 4,228,729 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 126.2% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,609,802 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $137,510,000 after buying an additional 2,571,457 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cognex by 18,810.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,794,649 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $56,657,000 after buying an additional 1,785,159 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognex by 32.0% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,082,319 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $181,436,000 after buying an additional 1,474,832 shares during the period. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 2nd quarter valued at $45,723,000. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $38.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.00 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $44.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.90. Cognex has a 12 month low of $22.67 and a 12 month high of $49.76.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.06. Cognex had a net margin of 11.33% and a return on equity of 8.26%. The business had revenue of $276.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $261.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Cognex has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.190-0.24 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cognex will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th will be given a $0.085 dividend. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.13%.

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.