FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO) Trading Down 5% – Here’s What Happened

FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO)’s stock price fell 5% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $28.08 and last traded at $27.98. 239,821 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 42% from the average session volume of 168,833 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FARO. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of FARO Technologies from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Craig Hallum raised their target price on shares of FARO Technologies from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of FARO Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 16th.

FARO Technologies Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $535.48 million, a PE ratio of -80.60 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.87.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $93.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.40 million. FARO Technologies had a negative net margin of 1.87% and a negative return on equity of 2.49%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share.

Insider Transactions at FARO Technologies

In other news, CFO Matthew Horwath sold 1,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.30, for a total transaction of $43,364.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,299. This trade represents a 3.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Yuval Wasserman sold 5,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total transaction of $177,378.30. Following the transaction, the director now owns 153,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,812,601.20. This trade represents a 3.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,755 shares of company stock worth $356,020. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FARO Technologies

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Millennium Management LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in FARO Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $78,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in FARO Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $386,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in FARO Technologies by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,430 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 8,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in FARO Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $8,990,000. 97.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About FARO Technologies

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.