Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock Rating Upgraded by HSBC

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) was upgraded by research analysts at HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $52.00 target price on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. HSBC’s target price suggests a potential upside of 12.26% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Cognex from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Cognex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Cognex from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Cognex from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.15.

Cognex Price Performance

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $46.32 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $41.10 and its 200-day moving average is $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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.04. Cognex had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 11.76%. The firm had revenue of $196.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Cognex will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other Cognex news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,782 shares of the 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake 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 purchased a new position in Cognex in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC lifted 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in Cognex by 303.1% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 770 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is 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.