It's always interesting when a growth stock stumbles, not least because it can create a compelling buying opportunity. That's possibly the case with machine vision specialist Cognex (NASDAQ: CGNX). The company disappointed investors with its recent earnings, as 2022 turned out to be weaker than hoped, and the outlook for 2023 was also uninspiring. What's going on, and is Cognex a stock worth avoiding or one to buy on the dip?

As CEO Robert Willett put it on the recent Q4 earnings call, "Our fourth-quarter results were largely in line with our guidance, but are not representative of our long-term growth expectations."

Cognex's Q4 sales declined by 2% compared to the same period last year, and its full-year sales fell by 3% versus 2021. Management doesn't offer full-year guidance, but its first-quarter forecast for revenue of $180 million to $200 million compared unfavorably to $282.4 million in sales in Q1 of 2022. It gets worse. Management guided toward first-quarter gross margin in the low-70% range compared to its long-term target level in the mid-70% range.

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Source Fool.com