Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Updates Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) issued an update on its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 0.220-0.260 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 0.200. The company issued revenue guidance of $235.0 million-$255.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $237.5 million.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Cognex from $47.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 target price (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognex currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.73.

Cognex Price Performance

Cognex stock opened at $58.79 on Friday. Cognex has a 1 year low of $22.67 and a 1 year high of $59.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $39.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.48. The stock has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.75 and a beta of 1.53.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $252.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.92 million. Cognex had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 9.02%. Cognex’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cognex will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.085 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.13%.

Insider Activity

In other Cognex news, Director Robert Willett sold 177,052 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $10,338,066.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total value of $850,597.96. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,212 shares in the company, valued at $126,437.92. This trade represents a 87.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Cognex

Here are the key news stories impacting Cognex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and revenue growth — Cognex reported $0.27 EPS vs. $0.22 expected and revenue of $252.3M (up ~10% YoY); the stronger-than-expected results and margin improvement were the primary upward catalyst. Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Raised Q1 guidance — management gave Q1 EPS and revenue guidance above Street estimates (EPS guide 0.220–0.260 vs. consensus ~0.200), supporting the outlook for continued recovery. Guidance & Call
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade / price target lift — Needham raised its target from $47 to $67 and kept a Buy rating, reinforcing the bullish narrative and adding buy-side momentum. Analyst Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend and shareholder-friendly actions mentioned on the call — Cognex declared a quarterly dividend and discussed portfolio optimization and buyback/dividend moves that support shareholder returns. Dividend & Call Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive press and commentary — multiple outlets (Seeking Alpha, Motley Fool, Benzinga) published bullish takes on the turnaround and long-term returns; useful for sentiment but reiterative. Feature Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest reporting shows no meaningful short positions in the available data (entries report zero/NaN), so short-squeeze pressure appears unlikely based on current figures.
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider sales — Director Robert Willett sold ~177k shares (~$10.3M) and VP Laura Macdonald sold ~14.9k shares (~$850k). Big insider dispositions can temper sentiment even after strong results. Insider Filings
• Negative Sentiment: Emerging AI regulation risk — Cognex added a regulatory risk disclosure related to rising AI rules that could increase compliance costs and pressure margins over time. AI Regulation Risk

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 200,351 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,976,000 after buying an additional 23,326 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Cognex in the first quarter worth about $291,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Cognex by 24.1% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 47,444 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 9,223 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Cognex by 402.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Cognex by 7.5% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,208 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Company Profile

Cognex Corporation is a leading provider of machine vision systems, software, sensors and industrial barcode readers used to automate manufacturing, logistics and distribution processes. The company designs and develops vision-based products that help manufacturers and logistics operators inspect, identify and guide parts, assemblies and packaged goods in real time. Its solutions are applied in a broad range of industries, including automotive, electronics, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and general manufacturing.

The company’s product portfolio includes stand-alone vision systems, vision sensors and deep learning-based software platforms that enable automated inspection, quality control and traceability.