Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,996,707 shares, a decline of 27.3% from the January 29th total of 6,868,499 shares. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,497,097 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,497,097 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Cognex Price Performance

CGNX traded down $0.51 during trading on Monday, reaching $53.90. The company had a trading volume of 952,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,302,737. The company has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.65 and a beta of 1.53. Cognex has a 12 month low of $22.67 and a 12 month high of $59.88. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $43.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.65.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $252.34 million for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cognex will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be issued a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 26th. Cognex’s payout ratio is 50.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total value of $850,597.96. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,212 shares in the company, valued at $126,437.92. This represents a 87.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Willett sold 177,052 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $10,338,066.28. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 196,083 shares of company stock valued at $11,419,321 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,598,728 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $842,522,000 after purchasing an additional 374,999 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Cognex by 173,138.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 10,477,448 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $376,979,000 after buying an additional 10,471,400 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Cognex by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,101,583 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $292,224,000 after buying an additional 76,212 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,013,184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $252,360,000 after buying an additional 1,529,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,314,896 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $191,231,000 after acquiring an additional 1,258,629 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CGNX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Cognex from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 18th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. DA Davidson set a $55.00 price target on Cognex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Cognex from $50.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.21.

About Cognex

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.