Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Trading Down 4.3% – Here’s Why

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)’s stock price dropped 4.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $31.09 and last traded at $30.97. Approximately 998,787 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 1,182,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CGNX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $37.00 target price (down from $43.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.83.

Cognex Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.69 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.83.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is 52.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,445.18. This represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Cognex during the 4th quarter worth about $79,797,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 122.7% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,834,755 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $114,808,000 after acquiring an additional 1,562,115 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,299,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Cognex by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,840,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $209,427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 903.9% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 731,232 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $26,222,000 after acquiring an additional 658,394 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.