Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $70.4286.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CGNX shares. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Cognex from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Cognex from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $64.77 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.66 and its 200-day moving average is $50.02. The stock has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.11 and a beta of 1.52. Cognex has a 52-week low of $29.22 and a 52-week high of $71.90.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $268.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $245.98 million. Cognex had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 10.89%. Cognex’s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Cognex will post 1.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a $0.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is 40.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognex news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 41,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total transaction of $2,727,296.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 5,258 shares in the company, valued at $344,714.48. This represents a 88.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.34, for a total transaction of $1,343,517.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $264,696.60. This trade represents a 83.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 224,847 shares of company stock worth $14,975,098 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in Cognex by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,853 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,952,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Cognex by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 6,793 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Cognex by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,073 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Cognex by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 22,907 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $824,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essential Partners LLC raised its holdings in Cognex by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 2,153 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

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.