By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,410,000 shares, a growth of 9.7% from the January 15th total of 4,020,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.
Cognex Trading Down 2.1 %
Shares of NASDAQ CGNX opened at $33.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.85 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.88. Cognex has a 1-year low of $32.41 and a 1-year high of $53.13.
Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a return on equity of 5.28% and a net margin of 10.10%. Analysts forecast that Cognex will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.
Cognex Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.54%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Cognex news, Director Anthony Sun sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total value of $1,040,780.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 26,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,065,118.24. This trade represents a 49.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total value of $110,758.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Cognex during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Cognex in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Cognex by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Cognex in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages have issued reports on CGNX. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $37.00 price objective (down from $43.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.92.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Cognex
About Cognex
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.
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