Is Cognex Corp. overvalued or undervalued?

As of 17 October 2025, the valuation grade for Cognex Corp. has moved from attractive to expensive, indicating a shift towards overvaluation. The company appears overvalued based on key metrics such as a P/E ratio of 44, a Price to Book Value of 3.52, and an EV to EBITDA ratio of 30.68. In comparison, peers like Onto Innovation, Inc. and Sensata Technologies Holding Plc have P/E ratios of 20.49 and 12.23, respectively, suggesting that Cognex is trading at a significant premium relative to its industry.
Despite recent strong performance, with a year-to-date return of 28.39% compared to the S&P 500's 13.30%, the long-term outlook is concerning, as the stock has declined by 33.16% over the past five years, while the S&P 500 has gained 91.29%. This disparity reinforces the notion that Cognex Corp. is currently overvalued, particularly when evaluated against its peers and historical performance.