Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 1.640-1.680 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 1.480. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.1 billion-$1.2 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.1 billion. Cognex also updated its Q3 2026 guidance to 0.500-0.540 EPS.

Cognex Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of CGNX stock traded down $0.81 on Wednesday, reaching $70.71. The stock had a trading volume of 2,867,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,209,756. Cognex has a 12 month low of $34.60 and a 12 month high of $72.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.18 and a beta of 1.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $64.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.69.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.03. Cognex had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 13.62%.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 forecast that Cognex will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $72.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Cognex from $61.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Cognex from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, May 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognex currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.31.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other news, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.34, for a total transaction of $1,343,517.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 3,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,696.60. This trade represents a 83.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mark Fennell sold 64,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total transaction of $4,349,734.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $755,184.15. The trade was a 85.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 224,847 shares of company stock worth $14,975,098 in the last ninety days. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Cognex by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,314,896 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $191,231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258,629 shares during the period. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 0.9% during the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 4,768,716 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $151,264,000 after purchasing an additional 40,927 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Cognex by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,415,046 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $86,897,000 after buying an additional 86,552 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cognex by 20.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,161,987 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $97,938,000 after buying an additional 367,338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 0.3% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,029,648 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $64,366,000 after buying an additional 6,801 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.