Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires New Position in FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO)

Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,095 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FARO. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of FARO Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $386,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in FARO Technologies by 84.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,430 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 8,001 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in FARO Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,990,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in FARO Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,012,000. Finally, Bastion Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of FARO Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,892,000. Institutional investors own 97.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at FARO Technologies

In related news, CEO Peter James Lau sold 4,617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.30, for a total transaction of $135,278.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 160,076 shares in the company, valued at $4,690,226.80. This trade represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Horwath sold 1,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.30, for a total value of $43,364.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 39,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,155,299. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on FARO Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 16th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Craig Hallum cut FARO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of FARO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th.

FARO Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of FARO stock opened at $42.00 on Monday. FARO Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.52 and a 12-month high of $42.64. 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 $807.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -120.00 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.26.

FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO) last released 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 the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $93.54 million during 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 prior year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share.

FARO Technologies 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.