Laura Ann Macdonald Sells 14,881 Shares of Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total value of $850,597.96. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,437.92. This represents a 87.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Cognex Trading Up 0.2%

CGNX stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $58.79. The company had a trading volume of 4,790,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,239,616. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.31. Cognex Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $22.67 and a fifty-two week high of $59.88. The company has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.75 and a beta of 1.53.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. Cognex had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 11.51%.The company had revenue of $252.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.92 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

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

Cognex News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Cognex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus: revenue of $252.3M (≈+9.9% y/y) and EPS that topped estimates; management raised Q1 EPS and gave revenue guidance above Street expectations — the core driver of today’s rally. Cognex Reports Fourth Quarter 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Company highlights margin-focused portfolio optimization plus a shareholder-return push (dividend and buyback/upgrade messaging), which analysts and investors view as supportive of higher margins and multiple expansion. Why Cognex Is Up 48.6%
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Needham raised its price target (and carries a Buy), and other outlets reported upgrades and target bumps following the quarter — amplifying buying interest. Benzinga — analyst coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Cash flow and balance-sheet strength were highlighted (operating cash jumped materially y/y; cash balances rose), giving the company flexibility to execute buybacks/dividends and sustain investment. QuiverQuant — Q4 summary and cash flow
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings-call transcripts and deep-dive coverage are available for investors who want management color on product mix, AI strategy and the margin plan; these provide detail but no new surprise beyond the release. Seeking Alpha — earnings call transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Long-term performance pieces (e.g., 15‑year return stories) surfaced, useful for context but unlikely to move short-term price. Benzinga — long-term performance
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: Cognex disclosed rising AI-related regulatory and compliance risks that could increase costs, slow deployments or compress margins if global rules tighten — a longer-term headwind to watch. TipRanks — AI regulation risk
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity and mixed analyst views: recent insider sales were reported and some firms still carry cautious targets/ratings — these can temper enthusiasm if repeated or if growth disappoints vs. elevated expectations. QuiverQuant — insider & analyst notes

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CGNX. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 133,148 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,791,000 after buying an additional 972 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in shares of Cognex during the 4th quarter valued at $1,097,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,517,130 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $54,586,000 after purchasing an additional 86,413 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 128,175 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,612,000 after purchasing an additional 31,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Cognex in the 4th quarter worth $68,388,000. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CGNX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $45.00 target price on Cognex in a report on Friday, October 31st. DA Davidson set a $38.00 price target on Cognex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $61.00 price target (up previously from $54.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Cognex from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.73.

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.