U.S. stock markets reversed their trend and traded in negative ground Tuesday morning.
Shares of Cognex Corp. (CGNX, Financial) plunged in premarket trading today after the company posted earnings per share of 18 cents on first-quarter on revenue of $169.56 million, which was 22% higher than the comparable period. The company fell short of revenue expectations by $2 million and missed earnings estimates by 2 cents.
āOverall, our results for first quarter 2018 were good,ā said Dr. Robert J. Shillman, founder and chairman of Cognex. āRevenue grew 22% year-on-year, which was above our long-term target for revenue growth. We were also highly profitable, reporting an operating margin of 20% and a net margin of 22%. Nevertheless, while many companies would applaud these results, we are dissatisfied given the higher levels of profitability that we demonstrated in 2017.ā
Further, the gross margin reached 76% compared with 77% for the same trimester of 2017 and 76% for the previous quarter. Gross margin decreased year-on-year driven by a slight increase in the proportion of service-related revenue.
Looking ahead, the company expects for the second quarter revenue to be between $200 million and $210 million, with a gross margin in the mid-70% range.
Gainers
Ā· Qorvo Inc. (QRVO, Financial)
Ā· IPG Photonics Corp. (IPGP, Financial)
Ā· Johnson Controls International Plc (JCI, Financial)
Ā· Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN, Financial)
Losers
Ā· Seagate Technology Plc (STX, Financial)
Ā· Mattel Inc. (MAT, Financial)
Ā· Cummins Inc. (CMI, Financial)
Ā· Pfizer Inc. (PFE, Financial)
Global markets
The main European stock markets traded higher. The U.K.'s FTSE gained 0.15%, France's CAC jumped 0.68%, Spain's Ibex rose 0.56% and Germany's Dax inched up 0.25%
In Asia, markets closed in the green. Indiaās BSE Sensex closed up 0.55%, Japan's Nikkei gained 0.18%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 1.74% and China's Shanghai jumped 0.23%.
Disclosure: The author holds no position in any stocks mentioned.
