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

Shares of FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO) dropped 5% on Friday . The company traded as low as $28.08 and last traded at $27.98. Approximately 239,821 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 42% from the average daily volume of 168,833 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FARO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of FARO Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 16th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of FARO Technologies from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on FARO Technologies from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

FARO Technologies Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $530.74 million, a P/E ratio of -79.81 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.75.

FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.10. The business 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 business posted $0.36 earnings per share.

Insider Activity at FARO Technologies

In related news, CEO Peter James Lau sold 4,617 shares of FARO Technologies stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 160,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,690,226.80. The trade was a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Yuval Wasserman sold 5,658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total transaction 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. This 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 sold 11,755 shares of company stock valued at $356,020. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FARO Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FARO. Needham Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in FARO Technologies by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,029,250 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $19,700,000 after buying an additional 171,300 shares in the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC boosted its holdings in FARO Technologies by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 1,006,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $19,255,000 after purchasing an additional 152,000 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of FARO Technologies by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 744,222 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $18,874,000 after purchasing an additional 62,305 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of FARO Technologies by 0.4% during the third quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 676,796 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $12,954,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of FARO Technologies by 4.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 450,899 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $8,633,000 after buying an additional 19,005 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.19% of the company’s stock.

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.