Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by HSBC

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) was downgraded by stock analysts at HSBC from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They presently have a $33.00 target price on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. HSBC’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 1.20% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on CGNX. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (down from $43.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cognex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.83.

Cognex Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $33.40 on Friday. Cognex has a 12 month low of $32.41 and a 12 month high of $53.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a PE ratio of 54.75 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.77.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. On average, equities analysts predict that Cognex will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other Cognex news, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $110,758.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CGNX. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex in the fourth quarter worth about $79,797,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 122.7% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,834,755 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $114,808,000 after buying an additional 1,562,115 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex in the fourth quarter worth about $46,299,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,840,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $209,427,000 after buying an additional 1,253,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 903.9% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 731,232 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $26,222,000 after buying an additional 658,394 shares in the last quarter. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.