128,730 Shares in Cognex Corporation $CGNX Purchased by Castleark Management LLC

Castleark Management LLC bought a new stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 128,730 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,323,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 13.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 200,351 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $5,976,000 after buying an additional 23,326 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Cognex in the 1st quarter valued at about $291,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cognex by 24.1% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 47,444 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 9,223 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Cognex by 402.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 7.5% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,208 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX opened at $59.82 on Wednesday. Cognex Corporation has a 12 month low of $34.60 and a 12 month high of $72.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.08 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $64.66 and a 200-day moving average of $59.15.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.03. Cognex had a net margin of 16.05% and a return on equity of 13.50%. The business had revenue of $291.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.10 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. Cognex’s quarterly revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. Cognex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.640-1.680 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.540 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson set a $65.00 price target on shares of Cognex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $72.00 target price on Cognex in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Cognex from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Cognex from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.64.

Cognex 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.