Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Stock Holdings in FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO)

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO) by 27.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,722 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 6,870 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in FARO Technologies were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of FARO Technologies by 41.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 61,125 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after buying an additional 17,892 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in FARO Technologies by 4.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 450,899 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $8,633,000 after acquiring an additional 19,005 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in FARO Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $374,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of FARO Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $3,144,000. 97.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FARO Technologies Stock Down 2.2 %

FARO opened at $24.21 on Monday. FARO Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.52 and a 12 month high of $33.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $27.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.12. The company has a market cap of $465.46 million, a P/E ratio of -69.17 and a beta of 1.55.

FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $93.54 million for 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FARO shares. StockNews.com cut FARO Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 16th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of FARO Technologies from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Insider Activity at FARO Technologies

In related news, CEO Peter James Lau sold 4,617 shares of the business’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 $135,278.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 160,076 shares in the company, valued at $4,690,226.80. The trade was a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Yuval Wasserman sold 5,658 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total value of $177,378.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 153,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,812,601.20. This trade represents a 3.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,755 shares of company stock worth $356,020 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by 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.