The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $50.00 to $68.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 18.22% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird set a $55.00 price objective on Cognex in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cognex in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.73.

Cognex Trading Down 2.2%

Cognex stock traded down $1.27 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.52. The company had a trading volume of 722,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,207,490. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.71. Cognex has a 1-year low of $22.67 and a 1-year high of $59.88. The stock has a market cap of $9.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.76 and a beta of 1.53.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $252.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.92 million. Cognex had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Cognex will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In related news, Director Robert Willett sold 177,052 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $10,338,066.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total transaction of $850,597.96. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,437.92. This represents a 87.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Cognex by 13.3% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 318,984 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $14,450,000 after acquiring an additional 37,405 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,025,371 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $361,382,000 after purchasing an additional 949,599 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Cognex by 43.9% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,024,355 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $137,003,000 after purchasing an additional 922,149 shares during the last quarter. IMC Chicago LLC bought a new stake in Cognex during the third quarter worth approximately $5,761,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Cognex by 203.2% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 266,954 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $12,093,000 after buying an additional 178,911 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.