Cognex’s (CGNX) Overweight Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by Stephens in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $55.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Stephens’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 70.41% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on CGNX. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $37.00 price target (down previously from $43.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.83.

Cognex Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of CGNX stock traded up $0.11 on Wednesday, reaching $32.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 144,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,473,477. The company has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.91 and a beta of 1.43. Cognex has a 12-month low of $31.06 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.21.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. Research analysts expect that Cognex will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $222,662.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total value of $110,758.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognex by 3.5% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 262 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Cognex by 50.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is 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.