FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO) Sets New 1-Year High - What's Next?

FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $42.46 and last traded at $42.18, with a volume of 128849 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FARO has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of FARO Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 16th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on FARO Technologies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

FARO Technologies Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $809.99 million, a PE ratio of -120.44 and a beta of 1.49. The business's 50-day moving average price is $27.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.95.

FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.10. FARO Technologies had a negative net margin of 1.87% and a negative return on equity of 2.49%. The company had revenue of $93.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.40 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Peter James Lau sold 4,617 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.30, for a total value of $135,278.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 160,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,690,226.80. This trade represents a 2.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $177,378.30. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 153,512 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,755 shares of company stock worth $356,020. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of FARO Technologies

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of FARO Technologies by 32.9% during the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 6,460 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in FARO Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at $437,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FARO Technologies by 60.5% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,391 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 5,046 shares in the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC lifted its position in FARO Technologies by 123.7% in the first quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 33,004 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $901,000 after purchasing an additional 18,248 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FARO Technologies by 9,650.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,920 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 10,808 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.

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