Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Price Target Raised to $80.00 at Needham & Company LLC

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Aug 7th, 2026

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX – Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target suggests a potential upside of 14.55% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on CGNX. DA Davidson set a $62.00 target price on shares of Cognex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Cognex from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Cognex from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognex presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.69.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Cognex

Cognex Trading Up 3.7%

Cognex stock opened at $69.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.56 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.09. Cognex has a 12 month low of $34.60 and a 12 month high of $72.88.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.03. Cognex had a return on equity of 13.82% and a net margin of 16.05%.The firm had revenue of $291.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. Cognex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.640-1.680 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.540 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cognex will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In related news, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.34, for a total value of $1,343,517.68. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 3,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,696.60. This trade represents a 83.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Mark Fennell sold 64,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total transaction of $4,349,734.65. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $755,184.15. This trade represents a 85.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 224,847 shares of company stock worth $14,975,098 in the last three months. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Cognex during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Cognex by 402.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Cognex by 635.4% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 478 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Cognex by 74.8% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 764 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Cognex during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Cognex

Here are the key news stories impacting Cognex this week:

Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised price targets: Cantor Fitzgerald increased its target from $76 to $84 and upgraded or maintained an “overweight” rating, implying approximately 22% upside from the referenced price. Truist Financial raised its target from $71 to $78 while retaining a “hold” rating. Benzinga analyst rating reports Ticker Report analyst coverage
Positive Sentiment: Quarterly earnings beat expectations: Cognex reported second-quarter EPS of $0.45, above the $0.42 consensus and up from $0.25 a year earlier. Revenue reached a record $291.3 million, increasing 16.9% year over year, while margin gains, favorable product mix and cost controls supported the earnings outperformance. Cognex Q2 earnings beat report
Positive Sentiment: Outlook was raised materially: Third-quarter revenue guidance of $300 million to $320 million and EPS guidance of $0.50 to $0.54 are well above consensus estimates. Full-year 2026 EPS guidance of $1.64 to $1.68 also exceeds the $1.48 analyst estimate, reinforcing expectations for continued industrial automation demand. Cognex second-quarter results
Neutral Sentiment: Revenue slightly missed estimates: Quarterly revenue of roughly $291 million was just below the $292.1 million consensus, but the miss was offset by stronger margins and earnings. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.085 per share, representing a modest yield of about 0.5%.
Negative Sentiment: Insider selling is a cautionary signal: Reported insider activity over the past six months showed 16 sales and no purchases. Institutional positioning was mixed, with some major investors reducing holdings while others added shares, limiting the strength of the ownership signal.

Cognex Company Profile

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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.