FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO) Lowered to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on FARO. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of FARO Technologies from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on FARO Technologies from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th.

FARO Technologies Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ FARO opened at $28.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. FARO Technologies has a 12 month low of $13.52 and a 12 month high of $33.13. The company has a market capitalization of $545.16 million, a PE ratio of -82.05 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.69.

FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.10. FARO Technologies had a negative return on equity of 2.49% and a negative net margin of 1.87%. The company had revenue of $93.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.36 EPS.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Yuval Wasserman sold 5,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total transaction of $177,378.30. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 153,512 shares in the company, valued at $4,812,601.20. This trade represents a 3.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter James Lau sold 4,617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.30, for a total transaction of $135,278.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 160,076 shares in the company, valued at $4,690,226.80. This represents a 2.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,755 shares of company stock worth $356,020. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FARO. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in FARO Technologies by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 54,069 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of FARO Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $78,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in FARO Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $386,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in FARO Technologies by 84.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,430 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 8,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new position in FARO Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $8,990,000. 97.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FARO Technologies Company Profile

FARO Technologies, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and supports software driven three-dimensional measurement, imaging, and realization solutions worldwide. The company offers FaroArm, a combination of a portable articulated measurement arm, a computer, and CAM2 software programs; FARO Laser Tracker, a combination of a portable large-volume laser measurement tool, a computer, and CAM2 software programs; FARO Laser Projector, which provides a virtual template that operators and assemblers can use to position components; FARO Laser Scanning Portfolio to measure and collect a cloud of data points for 3D rendering of an object or area; and FARO Mobile Laser Portfolio provides 3D scanning while attached to other mobile devices, such as drones for metrology, reverse engineering, factory automation, building information modeling, public safety, and other applications.