Needham & Company LLC Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Stock Price

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) had its price objective lowered by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $41.00 to $33.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price suggests a potential upside of 18.58% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on CGNX. UBS Group dropped their price target on Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Cognex from $37.00 to $29.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Cognex from $37.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.38.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $27.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 45.62 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $28.51 and a 200-day moving average of $34.98. Cognex has a one year low of $22.67 and a one year high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cognex will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,445.18. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Cognex by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,836 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Cognex by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Cognex by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,749 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.