Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $61.00 and traded as high as $65.68. Cognex shares last traded at $64.37, with a volume of 2,282,691 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on CGNX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Cognex from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Truist Financial set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Cognex and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Cognex from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognex presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.21.

Cognex Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.12. The company has a market cap of $10.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.43 and a beta of 1.48.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.03. Cognex had a net margin of 16.05% and a return on equity of 13.50%. The business had revenue of $291.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, sell-side analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were given a $0.0850 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Cognex’s payout ratio is 33.01%.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CGNX. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new position in Cognex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $23,624,000. Eastern Bank boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 20.0% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,242 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 5,143.8% in the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 57,944 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,514,000 after acquiring an additional 56,839 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Cognex by 16.9% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 9,497 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marathon Mission Inc. grew its stake in Cognex by 22.4% during the third quarter. Marathon Mission Inc. now owns 4,613 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ: CGNX) develops machine vision products and technologies that help businesses automate manufacturing, logistics and other industrial processes. Its systems enable machines to inspect, identify, measure and guide products, components and materials with limited human intervention.

The company’s product portfolio includes industrial vision cameras, vision sensors, image-based barcode readers, three-dimensional vision systems and software for image processing and analysis.