UPDATE: Piper Jaffray Upgrades Cognex Corporation to Neutral, Raises PT Following Upbeat Analyst Day

In a report published Wednesday, Piper Jaffray analyst Jagadish Iyer upgraded the rating on Cognex Corporation CGNX from Underweight to Neutral, and raised the price target from $34.00 to $58.00. In the report, Piper Jaffray noted, “We are upgrading shares of CGNX from UW to Neutral with a $58 price target post its upbeat analyst day event. We believe the company is in the midst of a multi-year secular growth trend in the logistics segment ($250m market presently, growing 30% y/y) wherein CGNX's machine vision product gradually replaces laser line scanners. With continued growth in Factory Automation (>20% y/y), we see the company back in a growth path with gross margins sustainable in the mid 70's and net margins well above 20%. We think this likely leads to 20%+ y/y growth in top and bottom line going forward implying upside to '14 Street estimates as we roll out our CY15 estimates. Near term, we see the recovery in PMI across US, EU, and China as encouraging, though valuation remains still frothy. Our $58 PT is based on 20x CY15 EPS of $2.40+$9.61 in cash/share.” Cognex Corporation closed on Tuesday at $64.43.