Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Upgraded to Neutral at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) was upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $55.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 11.22% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on CGNX. Robert W. Baird set a $55.00 target price on Cognex in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $61.00 price target (up from $54.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $55.00 target price on shares of Cognex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.64.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX opened at $49.45 on Monday. Cognex has a 1 year low of $22.67 and a 1 year high of $59.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.97. The firm has a market cap of $8.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.81 and a beta of 1.45.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognex news, Director Robert Willett sold 177,052 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $10,338,066.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total transaction of $850,597.96. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,212 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 196,083 shares of company stock valued at $11,419,321. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Cognex by 13.2% in the first 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 bought a new position in Cognex in the 1st quarter worth $291,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognex by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 47,444 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 9,223 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of Cognex by 26.1% during the second quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 11,067 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 2,290 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

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.