Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $40.46, but opened at $43.39. Cognex shares last traded at $42.89, with a volume of 426,279 shares trading hands.

The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $234.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.86 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 4.97% and a net margin of 9.29%.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CGNX. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Cognex from $55.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Vertical Research assumed coverage on Cognex in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.00.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In related news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte purchased 2,000 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,340 shares in the company, valued at $437,950.80. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Cognex news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $437,950.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at $249,922.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Cognex by 986.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $68,679,000 after acquiring an additional 1,469,961 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex during the 1st quarter worth $58,502,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,098,711 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $237,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,116 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cognex by 41.4% during the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,716,623 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $157,659,000 after buying an additional 1,088,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Cognex by 132.0% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,272,640 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $59,509,000 after purchasing an additional 723,976 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Trading Up 4.0 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $39.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.93. The firm has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.76 and a beta of 1.41.

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.