Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) VP Darren Marc Long Sells 20,252 Shares

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.34, for a total transaction of $1,343,517.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 3,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,696.60. This trade represents a 83.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Cognex Price Performance

NASDAQ CGNX traded down $0.69 on Thursday, hitting $66.01. 1,981,032 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,214,232. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $56.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.21. Cognex Corporation has a 52-week low of $29.22 and a 52-week high of $71.90. The company has a market capitalization of $10.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.58 and a beta of 1.48.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.98 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 13.62%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group set a $75.00 target price on Cognex in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Cognex from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up from $50.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 13th. Seaport Research Partners set a $75.00 target price on Cognex in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cognex has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.43.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 37,405 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,101,583 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $292,224,000 after buying an additional 76,212 shares in the last quarter. IMC Chicago LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,761,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 43.9% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 922,149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 477,658 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $17,186,000 after buying an additional 76,540 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

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.