Gradient Investments LLC Purchases Shares of 13,973 Cognex Corporation $CGNX

Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 13,973 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,012,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Cognex by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 200,351 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,976,000 after buying an additional 23,326 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Cognex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $291,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Cognex by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 47,444 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,415,000 after buying an additional 9,223 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Cognex by 402.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Cognex by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,208 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognex News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Cognex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong earnings and raised guidance: Cognex reported adjusted EPS of $0.45, exceeding the $0.42 consensus and rising from $0.25 a year ago. Revenue reached a record $291 million, up 16.9% year over year, while margin improvement, favorable product mix and cost controls boosted profitability. The company raised full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $1.64–$1.68, versus the $1.48 consensus, and projected third-quarter EPS of $0.50–$0.54. Cognex Q2 Earnings Beat on Margin Gains Despite Revenue Miss
• Positive Sentiment: Growth opportunities are broadening: Management highlighted AI-enabled machine vision, data-center expansion and increasing business with existing customers as growth drivers. Investors are also encouraged by strength across most major end markets and improving margins. Cognex Q2 Earnings Call Centers on AI and Data Center Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets moved higher: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its target to $84 and assigned an overweight rating, Needham lifted its target to $80 with a buy rating, and Truist increased its target to $78 while maintaining a hold rating. The revisions signal greater confidence in Cognex’s earnings trajectory. Analyst price-target updates
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue modestly missed estimates: Quarterly revenue of approximately $291 million was slightly below the $292.1 million consensus, but the shortfall was offset by stronger margins and earnings. Cognex misses Q2 revenue estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling may temper enthusiasm: Recent disclosures indicate company insiders made 16 sales and no purchases over the past six months. This does not necessarily indicate deteriorating fundamentals, but it can add a valuation-related overhang.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Laura Ann Macdonald sold 41,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total transaction of $2,727,296.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 5,258 shares in the company, valued at $344,714.48. This trade represents a 88.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of Cognex 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,696.60. This represents a 83.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CGNX. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Cognex from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Cognex from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson set a $62.00 price objective on Cognex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners set a $75.00 price objective on Cognex in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.85.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CGNX opened at $66.89 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.94 and a beta of 1.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.27. Cognex Corporation has a 12 month low of $34.60 and a 12 month high of $72.88.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.03. Cognex had a net margin of 16.05% and a return on equity of 13.50%. The firm had revenue of $291.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Cognex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.640-1.680 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.540 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Cognex Corporation will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.01%.

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.