Citigroup Cuts Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Price Target to $42.00

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) had its price objective decreased by Citigroup from $44.00 to $42.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective points to a potential upside of 12.93% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Cognex in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Cognex from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective 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, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.83.

Cognex Price Performance

NASDAQ CGNX traded up $0.20 on Monday, hitting $37.19. The company had a trading volume of 439,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 961,431. The company has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a PE ratio of 71.52 and a beta of 1.40. Cognex has a 12-month low of $34.79 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $38.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Joerg Kuechen sold 2,934 shares of Cognex 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Anthony Sun sold 26,000 shares of the business’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 value of $1,040,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,065,118.24. The trade was a 49.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CGNX. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its stake in Cognex by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 4,055 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cognex by 123.1% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognex by 20.1% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,732 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 9.6% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 5,443 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in Cognex by 4.0% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 12,491 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 478 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.