FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO) in a report released on Friday. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on FARO. Needham & Company LLC cut FARO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Craig Hallum cut FARO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th.

FARO Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of FARO stock opened at $42.28 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.33. The stock has a market cap of $812.88 million, a PE ratio of -120.80 and a beta of 1.49. FARO Technologies has a 1 year low of $13.52 and a 1 year high of $42.64. 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 (NASDAQ:FARO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $93.54 million during 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew Horwath sold 1,480 shares of FARO Technologies stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.30, for a total value of $43,364.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 39,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,155,299. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter James Lau sold 4,617 shares of FARO Technologies stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.30, for a total value of $135,278.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 160,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,690,226.80. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FARO Technologies

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in FARO Technologies by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,345 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in FARO Technologies by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 31,279 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $793,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in FARO Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,144,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in FARO Technologies by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 31,048 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $787,000 after acquiring an additional 5,567 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in FARO Technologies by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 12,307 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 2,672 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.19% of the company’s stock.

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.