Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Releases Q3 2026 Earnings Guidance

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) updated its third quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 0.500-0.540 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 0.370. The company issued revenue guidance of $300.0 million-$320.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $279.2 million. Cognex also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 1.640-1.680 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CGNX. Wall Street Zen raised Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. DA Davidson set a $62.00 price target on Cognex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Cognex from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Cognex in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $72.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.31.

Cognex Price Performance

NASDAQ CGNX traded down $0.81 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $70.71. 2,894,613 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,832,561. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $64.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.90. Cognex has a 12-month low of $34.60 and a 12-month high of $72.88. The firm has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.18 and a beta of 1.49.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.03. Cognex had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 10.89%. Cognex’s quarterly revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. Cognex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.640-1.680 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.540 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Cognex will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cognex

In related news, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.34, for a total value of $1,343,517.68. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 3,990 shares in the company, valued at $264,696.60. The trade was a 83.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 98,122 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total value of $6,554,549.60. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 5,258 shares in the company, valued at $351,234.40. This trade represents a 94.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 224,847 shares of company stock worth $14,975,098. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CGNX. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Cognex by 15.4% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 8,352 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognex during the second quarter valued at approximately $232,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognex during the 4th quarter worth $202,000. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Cognex during the 3rd quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,446 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 653 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

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.