Vertical Research Initiates Coverage on Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX)

Vertical Research began coverage on shares of Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) in a research note published on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $58.00 price objective on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

CGNX has been the topic of several other research reports. Stephens boosted their price target on Cognex from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Cognex from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. HSBC raised Cognex from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $52.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Cognex from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Cognex from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $50.14.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of Cognex stock opened at $48.69 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.65. Cognex has a 52-week low of $34.28 and a 52-week high of $55.08. The firm has a market cap of $8.36 billion, a PE ratio of 83.95 and a beta of 1.42.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Cognex had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 11.76%. The business had revenue of $210.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $198.14 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cognex will post 0.46 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. Cognex’s payout ratio is 51.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 1,239.7% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 777 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 303.1% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 770 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 276.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 71.8% during the 4th 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.