Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Announces Earnings Results

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05, FiscalAI reports. Cognex had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 11.51%.The business had revenue of $252.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.92 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.16 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Cognex Trading Up 36.3%

Cognex stock opened at $58.67 on Friday. Cognex has a 12-month low of $22.67 and a 12-month high of $59.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a PE ratio of 87.57 and a beta of 1.53.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be paid a $0.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Cognex from $47.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $61.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $42.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $45.00 price objective on Cognex in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.57.

Trending Headlines about Cognex

Here are the key news stories impacting Cognex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations: revenue roughly $252.3M (≈+10% YoY) and EPS topped consensus, with improved margins and operating profit growth—core fundamentals that triggered the initial rally. PR Newswire — Q4 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Company raised FY-Q1 guidance (EPS view 0.220–0.260 vs. ~0.200 consensus and revenue guide $235–255M vs ~237.5M est.), signaling management confidence in demand and margin recovery. Yahoo Finance — Earnings Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder-return actions and a margin-focused overhaul: company announced dividend (quarterly $0.085) and signaled buyback/return priorities — a catalyst for income- and buyback-focused investors. Yahoo Finance — Buyback & Dividend Note
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness followed results: Needham raised its price target substantially (from $47 to $67) and reiterated a Buy, adding sell-side momentum that supports higher valuation expectations. Benzinga — Needham Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Cash flow and balance-sheet metrics strengthened (notably higher operating cash), which underpins flexibility for capex, buybacks or dividends but is already partially reflected in the rally. QuiverQuant — Financial Details
• Negative Sentiment: New regulatory risk: Cognex flagged rising AI regulation/compliance risk which could increase costs and constrain margin or product deployment in key markets—an important caveat for growth expectations in machine vision/AI applications. TipRanks — AI Regulation Risk

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CGNX. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 18,810.9% in the second 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. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Cognex by 10,861.7% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 782,776 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $35,460,000 after acquiring an additional 775,635 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Cognex by 55.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,441,646 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $65,307,000 after purchasing an additional 514,046 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 3,468.9% during the third quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP now owns 334,588 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $15,157,000 after purchasing an additional 325,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 35.6% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,226,454 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,903,000 after purchasing an additional 321,764 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

About Cognex

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.