Short Interest in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Declines By 28.6%

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,740,000 shares, a decrease of 28.6% from the October 15th total of 3,840,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial downgraded Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Cognex from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.91.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,922.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Cognex in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Cognex by 123.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Cognex during the third quarter worth $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Cognex by 276.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Cognex in the 2nd quarter worth about $55,000. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CGNX traded down $0.98 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $40.47. The stock had a trading volume of 545,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,277,134. Cognex has a 52 week low of $34.79 and a 52 week high of $53.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion, a PE ratio of 77.83 and a beta of 1.40.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is 61.54%.

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.