Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock Price Up 7.6%

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) shares shot up 7.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $44.05 and last traded at $44.05. 213,741 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 1,451,534 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised Cognex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.70.

Cognex Trading Up 5.9 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.83. The company has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.79 and a beta of 1.48.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $196.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.16 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 13.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Cognex’s payout ratio is 45.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $274,942.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of Cognex by 94.4% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 1,239.7% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 777 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 71.1% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 804 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 71.8% during the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Company 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.