Wall Street Zen Downgrades Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) to Hold

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Cognex from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Cognex from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX opened at $53.41 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $50.64 and a 200 day moving average of $43.95. Cognex has a 12-month low of $22.84 and a 12-month high of $59.88. The stock has a market cap of $8.92 billion, a PE ratio of 79.72 and a beta of 1.47.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.05. Cognex had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The business had revenue of $252.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.92 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cognex will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Angelos Papadimitriou sold 4,150 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.58, for a total transaction of $230,657.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $901,618.76. This trade represents a 20.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total transaction of $850,597.96. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,437.92. The trade was a 87.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 196,083 shares of company stock valued at $11,419,321. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CGNX. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Cognex by 74.8% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 764 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Company Profile

Cognex Corporation is a leading provider of machine vision systems, software, sensors and industrial barcode readers used to automate manufacturing, logistics and distribution processes. The company designs and develops vision-based products that help manufacturers and logistics operators inspect, identify and guide parts, assemblies and packaged goods in real time. Its solutions are applied in a broad range of industries, including automotive, electronics, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and general manufacturing.

The company’s product portfolio includes stand-alone vision systems, vision sensors and deep learning-based software platforms that enable automated inspection, quality control and traceability.