Short Interest in Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Increases By 23.0%

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,370,000 shares, an increase of 23.0% from the October 31st total of 2,740,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Cognex Price Performance

CGNX stock traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $40.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 968,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,262,427. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.66. Cognex has a twelve month low of $34.79 and a twelve month high of $53.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.89 and a beta of 1.40.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CGNX shares. Truist Financial lowered shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $46.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Stephens raised shares of Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Cognex from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognex news, CFO Dennis Fehr acquired 6,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,922.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Anthony Sun sold 26,000 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,065,118.24. This represents a 49.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognex

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CGNX. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 88.7% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 9,463 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 4,448 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of Cognex by 6.3% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 104,389 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $4,428,000 after purchasing an additional 6,218 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Cognex by 276.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Cognex by 51.6% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 49,770 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,327,000 after purchasing an additional 16,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in Cognex by 50.4% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 85,552 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $4,000,000 after purchasing an additional 28,653 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

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.