Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Short Interest Update

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,640,000 shares, an increase of 10.0% from the June 30th total of 4,220,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Cognex Trading Down 0.6 %

CGNX traded down $0.31 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $49.17. The stock had a trading volume of 285,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,306,616. Cognex has a 12 month low of $34.28 and a 12 month high of $54.88. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.85. The firm has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a PE ratio of 85.31 and a beta of 1.42.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $210.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $198.14 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 11.76%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognex will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is 51.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on CGNX shares. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Cognex from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Cognex from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Stephens raised their price objective on Cognex from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Vertical Research initiated coverage on Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Cognex from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.79.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in Cognex by 94.4% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cognex by 4.8% in the first quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 6,279 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Cognex by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,760 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Cognex by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Cognex by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,829 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

About Cognex

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.