FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. cut its position in shares of FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 351,991 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 64,400 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in FARO Technologies were worth $8,926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FARO. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of FARO Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $278,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of FARO Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in shares of FARO Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $306,000. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in FARO Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $374,000. Institutional investors own 97.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at FARO Technologies

In other news, CFO Matthew Horwath sold 1,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.30, for a total value of $43,364.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 39,430 shares in the company, valued at $1,155,299. This represents a 3.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Peter James Lau sold 4,617 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 160,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,690,226.80. This trade represents a 2.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,755 shares of company stock valued at $356,020. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

FARO Technologies Stock Down 3.3 %

FARO stock opened at $27.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $521.82 million, a P/E ratio of -78.54 and a beta of 1.55. FARO Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.52 and a 52-week high of $33.13. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.28.

FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $93.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business earned $0.36 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target 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. StockNews.com cut FARO Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 16th. Finally, Craig Hallum upped their target price on FARO Technologies from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

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.