Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock Price Down 7.3% on Analyst Downgrade

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) shares dropped 7.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $62.22 and last traded at $61.51. Approximately 135,200 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 2,125,512 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.35.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CGNX. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Cognex from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Truist Financial set a $74.00 target price on Cognex and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, HSBC cut Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, August 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.21.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Cognex in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,158,123,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Cognex during the second quarter worth $161,425,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Cognex during the second quarter worth $129,348,000. Front Street Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Cognex during the second quarter worth $90,581,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in shares of Cognex in the second quarter worth $90,605,000. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognex Stock Down 0.5%

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $62.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.28. The company has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.14 and a beta of 1.48.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.03. Cognex had a return on equity of 13.50% and a net margin of 16.05%.The business had revenue of $291.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Cognex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.640-1.680 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.540 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cognex Corporation will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.0850 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Cognex’s payout ratio is 33.01%.

Cognex Company Profile

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ: CGNX) develops machine vision products and technologies that help businesses automate manufacturing, logistics and other industrial processes. Its systems enable machines to inspect, identify, measure and guide products, components and materials with limited human intervention.

The company’s product portfolio includes industrial vision cameras, vision sensors, image-based barcode readers, three-dimensional vision systems and software for image processing and analysis.