Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on CGNX. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Cognex from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group set a $75.00 target price on Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.43.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX opened at $64.77 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.02. The stock has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a PE ratio of 77.11 and a beta of 1.52. Cognex has a 12 month low of $29.22 and a 12 month high of $71.90.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. Cognex had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 13.62%.The company had revenue of $268.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $245.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cognex will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In related news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 41,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total value of $2,727,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 5,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $344,714.48. The trade was a 88.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,696.60. This represents a 83.54% 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 valued at $14,975,098 over the last three months. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Cognex by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,598,728 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $842,522,000 after buying an additional 374,999 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Cognex by 173,138.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 10,477,448 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $376,979,000 after buying an additional 10,471,400 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Cognex by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,101,583 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $292,224,000 after buying an additional 76,212 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Cognex by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,013,184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $252,360,000 after buying an additional 1,529,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Cognex by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,314,896 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $191,231,000 after buying an additional 1,258,629 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Cognex

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.