Insider Trading Roundup: Cognex

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) insider has recently participated in insider trading activity. Director, J BRUCE ROBINSON bought 1,000 shares for $34,193 via one transaction Feb 16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,875 shares in total, priced at $68156.25 as of Wednesday. Another notable insider trading was done by the same insider on Aug 05. J BRUCE ROBINSON acquired 575 shares at an average price of $36.17 for a total of $20,798. Moreover, miller Jeffrey Benjamin carried out a sale of 20,000 shares at $49.55 each on Jun 16. The transaction amounted to $991,034. Director WASSERMAN REUBEN bought 7,500 shares for $370,546 through one transaction Jun 11.

The stock has experienced a total of 1 insider trades in the past three months. These trades include 0 sell activities and 1 buy trades. Furthermore, over the past 12 months, the stock was traded 8 times by insiders. In 6 of these trades, the insider was a seller while an employee of the company was the buyer in just 2 instances.

Cognex Corporation (CGNX) on February 10, 2016 announced that its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2015. In Table 1 below, selected financial data for the quarter and year are compared to the third quarter of 2015, the fourth quarter of 2014 and the year ended December 31, 2014.

“2014 was a tremendous year for Cognex and that strong momentum continued into the first half of 2015,” said Robert J. Willett, Chief Executive Officer of Cognex. “However, the order rate slowed during the second half of 2015. Despite that, we remain very positive about the long-term potential for machine vision and continue to invest in technology and sales.”

Statement of Operations Highlights – Fourth Quarter of 2015

• Revenue for Q4 2015 decreased 1% from Q4 2014 and 9% from Q3 2015. Business trends slowed substantially in Q4 2015 as the industrial markets that Cognex serves deteriorated across most major geographic regions. In constant currency, revenue increased 4% year-on-year and decreased 9% sequentially.


• Gross margin was 76% for both Q4 2015 and Q3 2015, and 78% for Q4 2014. Gross margin decreased year-on-year due to the impact of currency exchange rate fluctuations on reported revenue. A significant amount of revenue is denominated in euros, while inventories are predominantly purchased in U.S. dollars.


• Research, Development & Engineering (RD&E) expenses increased 23% from Q4 2014 and 3% from Q3 2015. RD&E increased, both year-on-year and sequentially, due to Cognex’s continued investment in long-term growth initiatives such as engineering resources and new product development. In constant currency, RD&E increased 26% year-on-year and 3% sequentially.


• Selling, General & Administrative (SG&A) expenses were flat with Q4 2014 and increased 5% from Q3 2015. SG&A was flat year-on-year as Cognex’s investment in its sales and support organization was offset by the impact of foreign exchange rates on the company’s international operations and lower commissions. SG&A increased on a sequential basis due to higher personnel-related costs. In constant currency, SG&A increased 4% year-on-year and 6% sequentially.