UBS Group Lowers Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Price Target to $53.00

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) had its target price decreased by investment analysts at UBS Group from $56.00 to $53.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 90.44% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cowen raised Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.25.

Cognex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CGNX opened at $27.83 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.95. Cognex has a 52-week low of $22.67 and a 52-week high of $53.13. The company has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 45.62 and a beta of 1.45.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share 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, research analysts predict that Cognex will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In related news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Cognex during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 439.4% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Cognex by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognex by 155.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the period. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Cognex by 129.9% during the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

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.