Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock Price Target Lowered at Stephens

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) had its target price lowered by Stephens from $85.00 to $70.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has an overweight rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CGNX. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Cognex from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. HSBC cut Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, August 10th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Cognex from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Cognex from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Cognex from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.93.

Cognex Stock Up 0.6%

CGNX traded up $0.29 on Friday, hitting $47.78. 3,785,834 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,779,685. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.04 billion, a PE ratio of 33.41 and a beta of 1.49. Cognex has a 12-month low of $34.60 and a 12-month high of $72.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.06 and a 200-day moving average of $58.04.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $313.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.62 million. Cognex had a net margin of 16.05% and a return on equity of 13.50%. The business’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cognex will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0850. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cognex in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,158,123,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in Cognex by 2.7% during the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,985,986 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $363,002,000 after purchasing an additional 156,108 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Cognex by 81.0% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,660,411 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $130,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,434 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Cognex in the second quarter worth approximately $161,425,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Cognex by 0.5% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,227,288 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $135,085,000 after purchasing an additional 11,927 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Cognex

Here are the key news stories impacting Cognex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cognex reported record Q3 results, with earnings of $0.53 per share beating estimates and revenue growing year over year. Management raised its 2026 revenue outlook to $1.14 billion–$1.16 billion and cited margin expansion and stronger logistics demand. Q3 earnings call outlook and margin expansion
• Positive Sentiment: The planned RealSense acquisition could add growth opportunities, while management is targeting further margin expansion. Cognex reports record third-quarter results and RealSense acquisition
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its quarterly dividend by 5.9% to $0.09 per share, a modest signal of confidence in cash generation.
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms cut their price targets: Stephens lowered its target to $70, KeyCorp to $65, Needham to $70, and Truist to $57. The cuts may temper enthusiasm despite the improved outlook; ratings remain mostly overweight or buy, while Truist is at hold. Stephens price-target change

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation develops machine vision and industrial identification technologies that help manufacturers and businesses automate inspection, measurement, guidance, and tracking processes. Its systems use cameras, sensors, software, and artificial intelligence to analyze images and identify products, defects, components, and other objects.

The company’s product portfolio includes vision systems, industrial cameras, vision sensors, barcode readers, optical character recognition tools, three-dimensional vision systems, and machine vision software.