Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.9333.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CGNX. Barclays set a $55.00 target price on shares of Cognex and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (up from $30.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, July 14th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Cognex from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Cognex from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other news, EVP Sheila Marie Dipalma sold 2,002 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $90,090.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $386,190. This represents a 18.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Cognex by 402.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cognex by 439.4% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Cognex during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new position in Cognex during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Cognex by 155.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cognex Trading Down 12.4%

Shares of CGNX opened at $40.78 on Friday. Cognex has a twelve month low of $22.67 and a twelve month high of $47.52. The company has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.44 and a beta of 1.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.90.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.02. Cognex had a net margin of 13.13% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The business had revenue of $249.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $246.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Cognex has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.240-0.290 EPS. Analysts predict that Cognex will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.07%.

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.