Cognex Profit Tops Street, Outlook Strong; Shares Up 13%

(RTTNews) - Cognex Corp. (CGNX) Monday reported a profit and revenue for the second quarter that easily trumped Wall Street expectations. Shares of the company surged 13 percent in extended session on a strong third-quarter revenue outlook.

Natick, Massachusetts-based Cognex's second-quarter profit dropped to $42.8 million or $0.49 per share from $43.7 million or $0.49 per share last year.

Revenues for the quarter surged to $147.3 million from $143.8 million last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.43 per share and revenues of $138.1 million.

CEO Robert Shillman said, "Business grew significantly at the top line on a sequential basis. And, this growth brought with it a higher level of profitability. Our operating profit margin increased to 34% in the second quarter compared to 17% in the prior quarter, reflecting the substantial leverage that incremental revenue has on our profitability."

Cognex, which makes machines vision sensors that inspect factory product lines, expects third quarter revenues of $142 million to $147 million. Analysts currently estimate earnings of $127.6 million.

Shares of Cognex closed Monday's trading at $45.32, up $0.15 or 0.33%, on the Nasdaq. The stock further gained $5.88 or 12.97% in the after-hours trade.