Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $26.90 and last traded at $27.25, with a volume of 911462 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.59.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CGNX. Citigroup lowered their price target on Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $37.00 price target (down from $43.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.83.

Cognex Stock Down 7.6 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $33.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.90 and a beta of 1.56.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s payout ratio is 52.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 56.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,844 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 10,458 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its position in Cognex by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 3,267 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Cognex by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,038,345 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $73,095,000 after purchasing an additional 177,324 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Cognex during the fourth quarter worth $210,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at $124,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.