Cognex shares jump on Q1 beat and upbeat Q2 outlook

Cognex Corporation (CGNX) is up 10.7% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The move appears tied to an earnings-driven repricing after Cognex posted strong first-quarter results with notable margin expansion and issued second-quarter guidance that signaled continued momentum. Investors also likely reacted to the company’s updated outlook for revenue, profitability, and earnings power versus prior expectations.

Details:

Cognex reported first-quarter revenue of $268 million, up 24% year over year, alongside a sharp increase in operating income and operating margin.

Profitability strengthened as gross margin rose to 71.1%, while adjusted EBITDA margin reached 26.9%, highlighting operating leverage from higher volume and mix.

Adjusted diluted EPS was $0.34 for the quarter, more than doubling from the prior-year period.

For the second quarter, Cognex guided to revenue of $280–$300 million and adjusted diluted EPS of $0.40–$0.44, implying further year-over-year growth; the board also declared a $0.085 quarterly dividend.

Sources:

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), PR Newswire

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$CGNX Insider Trading Activity

$CGNX insiders have traded $CGNX stock on the open market 12 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 12 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $CGNX stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

ROBERT WILLETT has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 179,200 shares for an estimated $10,465,007.
JOERG KUECHEN (Head of Corporate M&A) has made 0 purchases and 4 sales selling 61,900 shares for an estimated $3,468,385.
LAURA ANN MACDONALD (VP and PAO) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 14,881 shares for an estimated $850,553.
CARL GERST (EVP, Global Sales and Products) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 14,336 shares for an estimated $802,021.
ANGELOS PAPADIMITRIOU sold 4,150 shares for an estimated $230,658

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API.

$CGNX Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 280 institutional investors add shares of $CGNX stock to their portfolio, and 253 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT CO removed 10,451,742 shares (-99.8%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $512,030,840
ALYESKA INVESTMENT GROUP, L.P. added 1,900,718 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $68,387,833
SWEDBANK AB removed 1,400,000 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $50,371,999
PRICE T ROWE ASSOCIATES INC /MD/ added 1,258,629 shares (+31.0%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $45,285,471
UBS AM, A DISTINCT BUSINESS UNIT OF UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC removed 1,113,868 shares (-75.8%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $40,076,970
BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT HOLDING S.A. added 1,032,175 shares (+65244.9%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $37,137,656
AQR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC removed 1,014,994 shares (-46.9%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $36,519,484

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API.

$CGNX Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $CGNX in the last several months. We have seen 1 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 1 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

Goldman Sachs issued a "Buy" rating on 12/16/2025
JP Morgan issued a "Underweight" rating on 12/03/2025

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $CGNX, check out Quiver Quantitative's $CGNX forecast page.

$CGNX Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $CGNX recently. We have seen 9 analysts offer price targets for $CGNX in the last 6 months, with a median target of $67.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Tommy Moll from Stephens & Co. set a target price of $75.0 on 05/07/2026
Jamie Cook from Truist Securities set a target price of $50.0 on 04/20/2026
Guy Hardwick from Barclays set a target price of $64.0 on 03/16/2026
Tomohiko Sano from JP Morgan set a target price of $55.0 on 03/09/2026
Helen Fang from HSBC set a target price of $68.0 on 02/17/2026
Matthew Summerville from DA Davidson set a target price of $55.0 on 02/17/2026
Joe Ritchie from Goldman Sachs set a target price of $68.0 on 02/17/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.