Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 4,222,231 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 208% from the previous session’s volume of 1,370,852 shares.The stock last traded at $23.82 and had previously closed at $23.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC cut 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, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.17.

Cognex Stock Up 2.1 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $31.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.54. The stock has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of 39.26 and a beta of 1.56.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 11.61%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cognex Co. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.46%.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In other news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 4,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,445.18. This represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CGNX. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Cognex during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position 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 last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Cognex by 129.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group lifted its holdings in Cognex by 1,686.7% during the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 1,072 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cognex by 50.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,047 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.