Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Raised to “Neutral” at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) was upgraded by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $55.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 11.22% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Cognex in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.64.

Cognex Stock Down 3.5%

CGNX stock opened at $49.45 on Monday. Cognex has a twelve month low of $22.67 and a twelve month high of $59.88. The business’s fifty day moving average is $44.98 and its 200-day moving average is $42.97. The company has a market cap of $8.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.81 and a beta of 1.45.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its 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. Cognex had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 11.51%.The firm had revenue of $252.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Cognex will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Angelos Papadimitriou sold 4,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.58, for a total transaction of $230,657.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,222 shares in the company, valued at $901,618.76. This represents a 20.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Willett sold 177,052 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $10,338,066.28. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 196,083 shares of company stock worth $11,419,321 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 318,984 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $14,450,000 after purchasing an additional 37,405 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Cognex by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,025,371 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $361,382,000 after purchasing an additional 949,599 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Cognex by 43.9% in 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 position in Cognex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,761,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Cognex by 203.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 266,954 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $12,093,000 after acquiring an additional 178,911 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Company Profile

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.