Peregrine Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Peregrine Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 30.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,448 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 7,217 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $522,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Cognex by 7.9% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 52,502 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,665,000 after purchasing an additional 3,862 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in Cognex by 83.2% in the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 65,602 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,081,000 after purchasing an additional 29,788 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Cognex by 3.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 595,550 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $18,891,000 after purchasing an additional 17,934 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Cognex by 2.4% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 281,579 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $8,932,000 after purchasing an additional 6,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Cognex in the second quarter valued at approximately $334,000. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX opened at $47.29 on Wednesday. Cognex Corporation has a one year low of $22.67 and a one year high of $49.76. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.61 and a beta of 1.50.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $249.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $246.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other news, EVP Sheila Marie Dipalma sold 2,002 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 8,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $386,190. This trade represents a 18.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Willett sold 6,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total transaction of $331,915.04. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 10,706 shares of company stock worth $512,065 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CGNX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Cognex from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays set a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Cognex from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price target (up from $30.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.93.

Cognex Profile

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.