Cognex combines a high-quality balance sheet with excellent cash conversion and strong 24% revenue growth, but a forward price-to-earnings of 37.4x leaves little margin for error and the current reward-to-risk of 0.59-to-1 is well below any reasonable asymmetry bar.
Thesis pillars
- Excellent Cash Conversion Quality→Stable
- Strong Revenue Growth Trajectory→Stable
- Premium Valuation Leaves No Margin→Stable
- +2 more pillars — see the Why tab for full reasoning
Cognex Corporation (CGNX) Stock Analysis
Breakout setup · Catalyst-Driven edge
Technology · Scientific & Technical Instruments
Hold if already holding. Not a fresh buy at $68.10, but acceptable to hold if already in. Reasons: Analyst target reached - limited upside remaining; Leverage penalty (D/E 5.0): -1.5.
Cognex makes machine vision systems, sensors, vision software, and barcode readers for factory and warehouse automation, selling globally across logistics, packaging, consumer electronics, and automotive markets. With 67% of 2025 revenue from international customers, the company... Read more
Hold if already holding. Not a fresh buy at $68.10, but acceptable to hold if already in. Reasons: Analyst target reached - limited upside remaining; Leverage penalty (D/E 5.0): -1.5. Chart setup: Golden cross, above all MAs, RSI 61, MACD bullish. Multiple concerning factors. Consider reducing position. | News modifier +2 (SELL_IF_HOLDING → HOLD_IF_HOLDING) Score 6.1/10, moderate confidence.
Passes 7/8 gates (positive momentum, clean insider activity, no SEC red flags, news boost analyst 0.40, earnings proximity 26d clear, semi cycle peak clear, materials cycle peak clear). Fails on favorable risk/reward ratio. Suitability: aggressive.
About Cognex Corporation
About Cognex Corporation
67% of Cognex's revenue in 2025 came from customers outside the United States, with approximately 25% from Europe, 16% from Greater China, and 26% from other international regions. The company employed 2,745 people at December 31, 2025 and spent $139 million on research, development, and engineering — 14% of revenue. Cognex's four largest end markets — logistics, packaging, consumer electronics, and automotive — combined for approximately 85% of total 2025 revenue.
Cognex sells machine vision systems, sensors, vision software, and barcode readers through a direct sales force complemented by OEM, distribution, and system integrator partners. Hardware products including In-Sight vision systems and DataMan barcode readers are assembled by contract manufacturers primarily in Indonesia and Malaysia, with optical components manufactured at in-house plants in China and Vietnam acquired through the 2023 Moritex Corporation acquisition ($270 million enterprise value). Service offerings represent less than 10% of total revenue. In 2025, Cognex launched OneVision, a cloud-based platform for AI model training and deployment, and its first SLX logistics-focused devices. The company's salesforce transformation in 2025 restructured the go-to-market model around three teams: market creation, market penetration, and partner enablement. U.S. export controls affecting Chinese semiconductor companies have had a negative impact on China revenue, though the company characterized the impact as immaterial to total revenue through year-end 2025.
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The most concentrated supply chain dependency is Cognex's reliance on a primary contract manufacturer located in Indonesia. The 10-K notes that production and test equipment unique to Cognex products creates practical challenges to shifting production in a timely manner even when the manufacturer has plants elsewhere — a risk that materialized in 2022 when a fire at the Indonesian facility destroyed significant inventories and delayed shipments through the first half of 2023. This single-site dependency, combined with exposure to U.S.-China trade restrictions affecting both Greater China revenue (16% of 2025 sales) and component sourcing from Chinese suppliers, could weigh on results if geopolitical conditions deteriorate further.
See also: Technology · Scientific & Technical Instruments
From Cognex Corporation's most recent 10-K filing, extracted June 9, 2026.
Recent developments
updated 2026-07-06Recent Developments — Cognex Corporation
Latest news
- NEWS What sovereign risk Cognex (CGNX)? (Near Lows) 2026-04-29 - Portfolio Management - Newser — Newser negative
- NEWS Cognex (CGNX) Projected to Post Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday - MarketBeat — MarketBeat neutral
- NEWS Comerica Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in Cognex Corporation $CGNX - MarketBeat — MarketBeat neutral
- NEWS Strong Earnings Report Lifted Cognex Corporation (CGNX) in Q1 - Yahoo Finance — Yahoo Finance positive
- NEWS Cognex: Reindustrialization And The Military Industrial Complex Can Drive Global Growth - Seeking Alpha — Seeking Alpha positive
Generated 2026-07-06T06:00:34Z.
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Model-generated analysis — not investment advice. Not a registered investment advisor. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
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Rating Breakdown
1 floor-breaker·1 ceiling hit
Ranks in the bottom of its industry peers on the composite signal. Better names in the same sector exist.static
Price Targets
Position Sizing
Risk Alerts
Earnings
Verdict History
Frequently Asked Questions
Hold if already holding. Not a fresh buy at $68.10, but acceptable to hold if already in. Reasons: Analyst target reached - limited upside remaining; Leverage penalty (D/E 5.0): -1.5. Chart setup: Golden cross, above all MAs, RSI 61, MACD bullish. Multiple concerning factors. Consider reducing position. | News modifier +2 (SELL_IF_HOLDING → HOLD_IF_HOLDING) Target $68.62 (+0.8%), stop $63.05 (−8.0%), A.R:R 0.1:1. Score 6.1/10, moderate confidence.
Take-profit target: $68.62 (+1.2% upside). Target $68.62 (+0.8%), stop $63.05 (−8.0%), A.R:R 0.1:1. Stop-loss: $63.05.
Analyst target reached - limited upside remaining; Leverage penalty (D/E 5.0): -1.5; Value-trap signals (2/5): High leverage (D/E 5.0), Material insider selling (21 sells, 0.13% of cap).
Cognex Corporation trades at a P/E of 79.8 (forward 38.4). TrendMatrix value score: 4.1/10. Verdict: Hold.
29 analysts cover CGNX with a consensus score of 3.9/5. Average price target: $76.
What does Cognex Corporation do?Cognex makes machine vision systems, sensors, vision software, and barcode readers for factory and warehouse...
Cognex makes machine vision systems, sensors, vision software, and barcode readers for factory and warehouse automation, selling globally across logistics, packaging, consumer electronics, and automotive markets. With 67% of 2025 revenue from international customers, the company earns primarily through hardware and software product sales, with service revenue under 10% of total. Products are assembled by contract manufacturers in Indonesia and Malaysia, with optical components manufactured in China and Vietnam.