Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Down 11.4% After Earnings Miss

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) fell 11.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $35.54 and last traded at $34.77. 694,870 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 1,107,339 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.25.

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 5.28% and a net margin of 10.10%.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CGNX. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Cognex from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Cognex from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Cognex from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In other Cognex news, Director Anthony Sun sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total transaction of $1,040,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,608 shares in the company, valued at $1,065,118.24. This trade represents a 49.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total value of $110,758.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CGNX. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Cognex during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Cognex by 123.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Cognex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Down 11.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.55 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.96 and a 200-day moving average of $39.22.

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.