Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Price Target Raised to $68.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) had its target price increased by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $50.00 to $68.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 18.22% from the company’s previous close.

CGNX has been the topic of several other research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $35.00 price objective (down from $45.00) on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cognex in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.73.

Cognex Trading Down 2.2%

NASDAQ:CGNX traded down $1.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $57.52. 722,821 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,207,490. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $39.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.71. The firm has a market cap of $9.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.76 and a beta of 1.53. Cognex has a fifty-two week low of $22.67 and a fifty-two week high of $59.88.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $252.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.92 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 11.51%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.16 EPS. Research analysts predict that Cognex will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Cognex news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $126,437.92. The trade was a 87.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Willett sold 177,052 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $10,338,066.28. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 173,138.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 10,477,448 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $376,979,000 after acquiring an additional 10,471,400 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cognex during the 4th quarter worth $73,103,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 4th quarter worth $68,388,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 18,810.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,794,649 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $56,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Cognex by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,013,184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $252,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529,010 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

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.