Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Truist Financial

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Truist Financial in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $50.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $47.00. Truist Financial’s price objective points to a potential upside of 7.94% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Cognex from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Cognex from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com cut shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Cognex from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Cognex from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.15.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $46.32 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.07. Cognex has a one year low of $34.28 and a one year high of $59.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.86 and a beta of 1.48.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,782 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $274,942.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in Cognex by 94.4% during the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Cognex during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cognex by 1,239.7% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 777 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in Cognex by 303.1% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 770 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in Cognex by 71.1% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 804 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.