Cognex Corporation $CGNX Shares Purchased by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 4.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 868,058 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,000 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Cognex were worth $42,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CGNX. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Cognex by 124.5% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 98,451 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,542,000 after acquiring an additional 54,600 shares during the period. One Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at $1,945,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Cognex by 76.3% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 758,831 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,303,000 after acquiring an additional 328,427 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Cognex in the fourth quarter valued at $753,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,152,053 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $41,451,000 after purchasing an additional 114,652 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.34, for a total value of $1,343,517.68. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,990 shares in the company, valued at $264,696.60. This represents a 83.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark Fennell sold 64,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total transaction of $4,349,734.65. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $755,184.15. This trade represents a 85.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 224,847 shares of company stock worth $14,975,098. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Performance

Cognex stock opened at $61.29 on Tuesday. Cognex Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.45 and a fifty-two week high of $72.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.96 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.62.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Cognex had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 13.62%.The business had revenue of $268.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cognex Corporation will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CGNX shares. Robert W. Baird set a $72.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, May 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners set a $75.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.31.

Cognex 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.