Renaissance Technologies LLC Lowers Stock Position in FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO)

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its position in shares of FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO - Free Report) by 26.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,542 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 42,400 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.62% of FARO Technologies worth $2,981,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in shares of FARO Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $55,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $212,000 after buying an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FARO Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $278,000. Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in shares of FARO Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $306,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of FARO Technologies by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 12,307 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 2,672 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on FARO. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on FARO Technologies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded FARO Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 16th.

Insider Transactions at FARO Technologies

In related news, CFO Matthew Horwath sold 1,480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.30, for a total transaction of $43,364.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,430 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,155,299. This trade represents a 3.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Yuval Wasserman sold 5,658 shares of the firm'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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,755 shares of company stock worth $356,020 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

FARO Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FARO traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $30.13. 20,017 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 185,487. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.17. The company has a market cap of $579.30 million, a P/E ratio of -86.33 and a beta of 1.55. FARO Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.52 and a 1 year high of $33.13.

FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO - Get Free Report) 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.10. FARO Technologies had a negative return on equity of 2.49% and a negative net margin of 1.87%. The company had revenue of $93.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS.

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.