Marshall Wace LLP Trims Stock Holdings in FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO)

Marshall Wace LLP reduced its holdings in shares of FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO - Free Report) by 73.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,578 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 94,030 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.18% of FARO Technologies worth $852,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in shares of FARO Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Covestor Ltd bought a new position in shares of FARO Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $111,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of FARO Technologies by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,345 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 966 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in FARO Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $278,000. Finally, Inceptionr LLC acquired a new stake in FARO Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $306,000. 97.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of FARO Technologies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of FARO Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 16th.

FARO Technologies Stock Up 4.0 %

NASDAQ:FARO traded up $1.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $30.81. 357,452 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 188,347. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $27.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.80. The company has a market cap of $592.35 million, a PE ratio of -88.03 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. FARO Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $13.52 and a one year high of $33.13.

FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $93.54 million during 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 quarter last year, the business posted $0.36 EPS.

Insider Buying and Selling at FARO Technologies

In related news, CEO Peter James Lau sold 4,617 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 160,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,690,226.80. This represents a 2.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Matthew Horwath sold 1,480 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.30, for a total transaction of $43,364.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 39,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,299. The trade was a 3.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,755 shares of company stock worth $356,020 in the last quarter. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.