Tredje AP fonden Has $25.41 Million Position in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Tredje AP fonden increased its position in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 560,829 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,192 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Cognex were worth $25,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Cognex by 402.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Cognex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In other news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was 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 directly owned 2,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,437.92. This trade represents a 87.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert Willett sold 177,052 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $10,338,066.28. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Cognex

Here are the key news stories impacting Cognex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat and revenue beat reinforced momentum; investors are reacting to accelerating sales and profit improvements. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are raising earnings estimates, which typically supports higher share prices as future EPS expectations improve. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Sell-side and independent outlets are upbeat: a Goldman Sachs analyst is forecasting further upside, and Zacks upgraded CGNX to a “strong-buy,” adding institutional credibility. Read More. | Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage in robotics/AI roundup pieces highlights Cognex as an overlooked beneficiary of automation tailwinds, which can attract momentum traders. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presentations at industry conferences increase investor access to guidance and strategy but do not by themselves change fundamentals. Read More. | Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary is mixed on valuation/timing — several articles ask whether buying after a ~70% rally is sensible, prompting caution among new buyers. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data in the feed appears inconsistent/zeroed out and is not a reliable signal at present (no clear days-to-cover pressure).
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and recent run-up increase downside risk: CGNX trades at a high P/E and near its 52-week high, which could prompt profit-taking if growth expectations slip or macro sentiment weakens.

Cognex Stock Performance

CGNX stock opened at $56.03 on Friday. 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 $9.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.63 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50-day moving average is $41.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $252.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.92 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 11.51%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.085 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CGNX shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cognex in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research upgraded Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Cognex in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.21.

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.