Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) VP Sells $850,597.96 in Stock

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total transaction of $850,597.96. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 2,212 shares in the company, valued at $126,437.92. This represents a 87.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Cognex Trading Up 0.2%

Cognex stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $58.79. 4,790,845 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,239,616. Cognex Corporation has a 1-year low of $22.67 and a 1-year high of $59.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.31. 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 announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $252.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.92 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 11.51%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be 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 is Thursday, February 26th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.13%.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Cognex by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 22,907 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,132 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 1.8% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Cognex by 0.6% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Cognex News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cognex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus: revenue of $252.3M (≈+9.9% y/y) and EPS that topped estimates; management raised Q1 EPS and gave revenue guidance above Street expectations — the core driver of today’s rally. Cognex Reports Fourth Quarter 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Company highlights margin-focused portfolio optimization plus a shareholder-return push (dividend and buyback/upgrade messaging), which analysts and investors view as supportive of higher margins and multiple expansion. Why Cognex Is Up 48.6%
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Needham raised its price target (and carries a Buy), and other outlets reported upgrades and target bumps following the quarter — amplifying buying interest. Benzinga — analyst coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Cash flow and balance-sheet strength were highlighted (operating cash jumped materially y/y; cash balances rose), giving the company flexibility to execute buybacks/dividends and sustain investment. QuiverQuant — Q4 summary and cash flow
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings-call transcripts and deep-dive coverage are available for investors who want management color on product mix, AI strategy and the margin plan; these provide detail but no new surprise beyond the release. Seeking Alpha — earnings call transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Long-term performance pieces (e.g., 15‑year return stories) surfaced, useful for context but unlikely to move short-term price. Benzinga — long-term performance
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: Cognex disclosed rising AI-related regulatory and compliance risks that could increase costs, slow deployments or compress margins if global rules tighten — a longer-term headwind to watch. TipRanks — AI regulation risk
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity and mixed analyst views: recent insider sales were reported and some firms still carry cautious targets/ratings — these can temper enthusiasm if repeated or if growth disappoints vs. elevated expectations. QuiverQuant — insider & analyst notes

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $45.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Cognex from $47.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.73.

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.