Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Short Interest Update

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,980,000 shares, a decrease of 5.7% from the September 15th total of 4,220,000 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX opened at $39.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.95 and a beta of 1.41. Cognex has a 1 year low of $34.28 and a 1 year high of $53.13. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.00.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $239.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $240.33 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 4.97% and a net margin of 9.29%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cognex will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is 51.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CGNX. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Vertical Research started coverage on Cognex in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.00.

Insider Activity at Cognex

In other Cognex news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $437,950.80. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte purchased 2,000 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,340 shares in the company, valued at $437,950.80. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CGNX. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Cognex by 38.4% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 64,855 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,751,000 after purchasing an additional 17,978 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognex by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,522,549 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $743,307,000 after acquiring an additional 188,485 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Cognex by 153.6% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 134,516 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,706,000 after acquiring an additional 81,467 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Cognex by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 870,822 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $36,940,000 after acquiring an additional 203,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Cognex by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,663,900 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $113,722,000 after purchasing an additional 598,207 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Company Profile

Cognex Corporation provides machine vision products that capture and analyze visual information to automate manufacturing and distribution tasks worldwide. Its machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing and tracking of discrete items, including mobile phones, electric vehicle batteries, and e-commerce packages by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them during the manufacturing or distribution process.