Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock Rating Upgraded by HSBC

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) was upgraded by HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently 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 stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on CGNX. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up previously from $47.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Cognex from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Cognex from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on Cognex from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.15.

Cognex Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Cognex stock opened at $46.32 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.07. The company has a market cap of $7.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.86 and a beta of 1.48. Cognex has a 12-month low of $34.28 and a 12-month high of $59.51.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $196.70 million for 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 firm’s revenue was down 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cognex will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,782 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $274,942.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CGNX. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in Cognex by 94.4% in 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 period. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 719 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in Cognex by 71.1% in 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 buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.