FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,520,000 shares, an increase of 36.9% from the April 30th total of 1,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 619,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 8.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FARO Technologies news, CFO Matthew Horwath sold 1,480 shares of FARO Technologies 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 $43,364.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,155,299. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter James Lau sold 4,617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.30, for a total value of $135,278.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of FARO Technologies by 237.2% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,442,512 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $39,381,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014,731 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in FARO Technologies by 107.4% during the first quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 735,269 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $20,073,000 after buying an additional 380,779 shares in the last quarter. Bastion Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in FARO Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,892,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in FARO Technologies by 244.0% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 213,423 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,412,000 after buying an additional 151,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of FARO Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $3,562,000. 97.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on FARO. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on shares of FARO Technologies in a report on Friday, May 16th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of FARO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Craig Hallum downgraded FARO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th.

FARO Technologies Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of FARO stock opened at $42.46 on Wednesday. FARO Technologies has a 1 year low of $13.52 and a 1 year high of $42.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $816.34 million, a PE ratio of -121.31 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $33.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.17.

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.