Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $26.90 and last traded at $27.25, with a volume of 911462 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CGNX. HSBC downgraded shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Cognex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Cognex from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cognex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.83.

Cognex Stock Down 11.8 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $34.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.25 and a beta of 1.56.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,445.18. The trade was a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at about $79,797,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Cognex by 122.7% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,834,755 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $114,808,000 after acquiring an additional 1,562,115 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cognex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,299,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,840,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $209,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Cognex by 903.9% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 731,232 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $26,222,000 after purchasing an additional 658,394 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.