DA Davidson Analysts Increase Earnings Estimates for Cognex

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) – Analysts at DA Davidson raised their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Cognex in a report issued on Tuesday, November 4th. DA Davidson analyst M. Summerville now expects that the scientific and technical instruments company will post earnings of $0.73 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $0.66. DA Davidson has a “Neutral” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Cognex’s current full-year earnings is $0.61 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Cognex’s FY2026 earnings at $0.83 EPS.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.06. Cognex had a return on equity of 8.26% and a net margin of 11.33%.The firm had revenue of $276.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $261.86 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Cognex has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.190-0.24 EPS.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Cognex from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Cognex in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $45.00 target price on Cognex in a report on Friday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.20.

Cognex Stock Down 0.7%

Cognex stock opened at $39.27 on Thursday. Cognex has a 52-week low of $22.67 and a 52-week high of $49.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $44.92 and its 200 day moving average is $37.54. The company has a market cap of $6.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.36 and a beta of 1.52.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CGNX. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 12.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,132 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in Cognex by 1.8% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 14,611 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Cognex by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Cognex by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,651 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its position in Cognex by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 4,021 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognex news, EVP Sheila Marie Dipalma sold 2,002 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $90,090.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $386,190. This represents a 18.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Willett sold 6,704 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total value of $331,915.04. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,706 shares of company stock worth $512,065. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 13th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.13%.

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.