Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Receives “Hold” Rating from Truist Financial

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Truist Financial in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $37.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $43.00. Truist Financial’s price objective points to a potential upside of 13.68% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.92.

Cognex Trading Down 4.0 %

Shares of Cognex stock traded down $1.37 on Friday, hitting $32.55. 658,660 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,281,399. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $37.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.22. The company has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 62.56 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex has a 52 week low of $32.50 and a 52 week high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 5.28%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cognex will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other Cognex news, Director Anthony Sun sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total transaction of $1,040,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,065,118.24. This trade represents a 49.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $110,758.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Cognex by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,836 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Cognex by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Cognex by 30.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Cognex by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,749 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation provides machine vision products that capture and analyze visual information to automate manufacturing and distribution tasks worldwide. Its machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing and tracking of discrete items, including mobile phones, electric vehicle batteries, and e-commerce packages by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them during the manufacturing or distribution process.