Robert W. Baird Increases Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Price Target to $44.00

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from $40.00 to $44.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target suggests a potential upside of 0.48% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CGNX. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Cognex in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Cognex from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group upgraded Cognex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Cognex from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cognex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.58.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of CGNX opened at $43.79 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $40.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.89. The stock has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.50 and a beta of 1.48. Cognex has a one year low of $34.28 and a one year high of $59.51.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $196.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.16 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 11.76%. The company’s revenue was down 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Cognex will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Cognex by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 71,112 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,018,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 92.2% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 28,993 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 13,906 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in Cognex by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 22,957 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Cognex by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 252,116 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $10,700,000 after acquiring an additional 11,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Cognex by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 171,477 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $7,278,000 after acquiring an additional 13,213 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.