Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) in a research report issued on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 25.98% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on CGNX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Cognex from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 13th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Cognex from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 6th. HSBC lowered shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Cognex from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognex presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.00.

Cognex Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $50.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.52 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.13. Cognex has a 12 month low of $34.60 and a 12 month high of $72.88.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $313.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.62 million. Cognex had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 21.50%. The business’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cognex will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Robinhood Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $16,461,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $918,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Cognex by 51.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 731,149 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $35,819,000 after purchasing an additional 249,877 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new position in Cognex in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,894,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Cognex during the second quarter valued at $29,034,000. 88.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation develops machine vision products that help businesses automate the inspection, identification and measurement of manufactured goods and packages. Its offerings include vision systems, barcode readers, vision sensors and software that analyze images captured during production and logistics operations. The company’s technology is used in industries such as automotive, electronics, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and logistics. Applications include checking product quality, guiding robots and reading codes on items moving through manufacturing and distribution facilities.