Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,640,000 shares, a growth of 10.0% from the June 30th total of 4,220,000 shares. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of CGNX opened at $49.62 on Thursday. Cognex has a 1 year low of $34.28 and a 1 year high of $54.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $47.48 and a 200-day moving average of $42.97. The company has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.55 and a beta of 1.42.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter. Cognex had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 6.81%. The company had revenue of $210.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $198.14 million. Analysts predict that Cognex will post 0.46 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CGNX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cognex from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Cognex from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Vertical Research assumed coverage on shares of Cognex in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.79.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 94.4% in the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Cognex by 1,239.7% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 777 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 303.1% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 770 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Cognex by 276.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 71.8% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Company Profile

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.