Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price target (up from $60.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $72.00 price target on Cognex in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on Cognex from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.43.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $64.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a PE ratio of 77.11 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s fifty day moving average is $60.66 and its 200-day moving average is $50.02. Cognex has a 1 year low of $29.22 and a 1 year 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. Cognex had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 13.62%.The business had revenue of $268.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $245.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Cognex will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other Cognex news, 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 owned 3,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $264,696.60. This represents a 83.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 41,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total transaction of $2,727,296.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 5,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,714.48. This represents a 88.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 224,847 shares of company stock worth $14,975,098 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cognex by 124.5% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 98,451 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,542,000 after acquiring an additional 54,600 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in 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 worth $292,224,000 after buying an additional 76,212 shares during the period. One Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at $1,945,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 76,540 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Cognex by 76.3% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 758,831 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,303,000 after purchasing an additional 328,427 shares during the period. 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.