FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on FARO. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on FARO Technologies from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company 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 company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

FARO Technologies Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of FARO Technologies stock opened at $31.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.17. FARO Technologies has a 52 week low of $13.52 and a 52 week high of $33.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $28.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $606.66 million, a PE ratio of -91.31 and a beta of 1.40.

FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.50 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $91.40 million. FARO Technologies had a negative return on equity of 2.49% and a negative net margin of 1.87%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share.

Insider Buying and Selling at FARO Technologies

In other news, Director Yuval Wasserman sold 5,658 shares of FARO Technologies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total value of $177,378.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 153,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,812,601.20. The trade was a 3.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FARO Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FARO. Quarry LP purchased a new position in FARO Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in shares of FARO Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of FARO Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $78,000. Covestor Ltd purchased a new position in shares of FARO Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $111,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of FARO Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $155,000. 97.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.