StockNews.com Upgrades FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO) to Strong-Buy

FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on FARO Technologies from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

FARO Technologies Price Performance

Shares of FARO Technologies stock opened at $29.28 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $29.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $555.79 million, a P/E ratio of -83.65 and a beta of 1.55. FARO Technologies has a twelve month low of $13.52 and a twelve month high of $33.13. 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 (NASDAQ:FARO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 posted $0.36 earnings per share.

Insider Transactions at FARO Technologies

In related news, Director Yuval Wasserman sold 5,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 153,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,812,601.20. The trade was a 3.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FARO Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in FARO Technologies by 0.8% in the fourth 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. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of FARO Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of FARO Technologies by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 37,129 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 1,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,333 shares during the last quarter. 97.19% of the stock is owned by 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.