NATICK, Mass., Dec. 14 -- Cognex Corp.'s board of directors has said that the company may repurchase up to $100 million of its common stock at the discretion of Cognex management. The company will buy back its common stock on the open market or in private transactions depending upon price levels and share availability. Funds to buy back shares will come from Cognex's existing cash and investment balances along with cash generated from operations. Cognex is a developer of machine vision systems that help manufacturers automate a wide range of production processes where vision is required.