Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 64,400 Shares of FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO - Free Report) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 351,991 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 64,400 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 1.86% of FARO Technologies worth $8,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Needham Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of FARO Technologies by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,029,250 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $19,700,000 after purchasing an additional 171,300 shares during the period. Harvey Partners LLC raised its position in FARO Technologies by 17.8% in the third quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 1,006,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $19,255,000 after acquiring an additional 152,000 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. boosted its stake in FARO Technologies by 0.4% in the third quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 676,796 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $12,954,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of FARO Technologies by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 396,830 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $7,595,000 after acquiring an additional 74,631 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.19% of the company's stock.

FARO Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of FARO stock traded down $3.28 during trading on Thursday, reaching $24.81. 334,647 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 175,420. FARO Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.52 and a 1 year high of $33.13. The company has a market capitalization of $470.94 million, a P/E ratio of -70.88 and a beta of 1.54. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $29.44 and its 200 day moving average is $25.48.

FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $93.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Matthew Horwath sold 1,480 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.30, for a total value of $43,364.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,430 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,155,299. This represents a 3.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter James Lau sold 4,617 shares of the business'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 directly owns 160,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,690,226.80. This represents a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,755 shares of company stock worth $356,020 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on FARO. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of FARO Technologies from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com lowered FARO Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on FARO Technologies from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

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.