Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, The Goldman Sachs Group Analyst Says

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) had its price target upped by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $50.00 to $68.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 19.89% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Cognex from $47.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Cognex from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognex presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.73.

Cognex Stock Performance

Shares of CGNX opened at $56.72 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.93. Cognex has a fifty-two week low of $22.67 and a fifty-two week high of $59.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.40 billion, a PE ratio of 84.66 and a beta of 1.53.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 14,881 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total value of $850,597.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,212 shares in the company, valued at $126,437.92. This trade represents a 87.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Willett sold 177,052 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $10,338,066.28. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 200,351 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $5,976,000 after acquiring an additional 23,326 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Cognex during the first quarter valued at $291,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cognex by 24.1% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 47,444 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 9,223 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Cognex by 402.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cognex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $340,000. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Cognex News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cognex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $68 and put a “buy” rating on CGNX, signaling increased analyst conviction and providing upside for investors. Goldman Sachs price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: HSBC upgraded Cognex, which adds to the wave of favorable analyst action and can attract momentum buyers. HSBC upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Cognex appointed automation veteran Dr. Sami Atiya and Chris Donato to its board to help drive AI and automation strategy—an operational move that investors may view as supportive of long-term growth. Board appointments
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Matt Moschner is scheduled to present at the Raymond James Institutional Investors Conference (Mar 2), giving management a platform to update investors on strategy and demand trends—often a catalyst for re-rating. Conference participation
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage pieces and Q4 call write-ups are circulating (questions on growth drivers, margins and backlog), which may produce short-term trading volatility as investors parse guidance and execution. Analyst expectations Q4 call questions
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data in the feed appears inconsistent (zeros/NaN), suggesting no clear short-squeeze pressure; treat that item as noisy data rather than a market driver.
• Negative Sentiment: CGNX currently carries a high trailing P/E (~84.7), which can prompt profit-taking after recent gains and make the stock more sensitive to any execution or guidance misses.

Cognex Company Profile

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.