FARO Technologies, Inc. (FARO)

* High technology company
* Customer industries like automatives and heavy equipments are in deep trouble in the short-term but should bounce back as global economic recovery continues
* Management has always struggled to contain costs and margins are not particularly stable but revenue growth should eventually be the primary story with this baby

Technically, it looks to have much more downside than many other stocks that were boosted by our "green shoots" rally. With a P/E over 60, this one just seems to have a big bullseye on it for shorts...

I read Rich Smith article on 11/19/2008.

FARO develops and markets portable 3D measurement technology to reduce customer lead times, rework and scrap. FARO's extensive customer list includes Airbus, Boeing, BMW, Johnson Controls, John Deere, Daimler, Volkswagen, Miele, Cargobull, Caterpillar, ABB, MAN, Goodyear, SKF and Siemens.

FARO is currently trading at a P/E half it's growth rate of 20%. It has had 25 consecutive profitable quarters, is cash rich with no debt and is not dependent on any one or a few customers to generate revenue. It has significantly increased sales globally and has positioned itself well to take advantage of a highly under penetrated market.

Given the deep economic downturn we're currently experiencing there will be many challenges for FARO to navigate. However, this cash rich company is not vulnerable to the demise of any one customer, has a globally diverse customer base and develops products that provide cost savings for its customers. I anticipate that as we come out of this recession, FARO will experience a better deal closure rate, as customers keen to increase efficiency and save costs will buy their products.

Oversold (but then again, what isn't?!)

Experiment time... I will pick whatever stocks that are on the cold 5 star list on the last trading day of each month. There is no research involved other what is on the cold 5 star list at the end of each month. Each pick will be for one year. Lets see where this goes...

Trailing of 23 and forward of 15 for a high growth tech stock is excellent. They missed in their last earnings, but they didn't really. They didn't change the guidance for the year at all, yet the market took it down from 36 dollars to 26. That's an enormous drop for a company that kept their yearly guidance the same. Great opportunity to get in on a company that dominates its competition. In fact there is only one other company in the competition for a company that feels it has tapped only 5% percent of the potential market for their product.

Operating costs were up due to purchasing of new nd better equipment, and their CAD market segment should increase due to stronger building demand.

Faro is taking a huge hit today because it's earnings only increased by 14 percent? I've held this stock for a long time, and am glad to have it. I'm not going to buy more, but today would be a good day to create a position. GE is one of their customers.

Even though the pace of construction is bound to slow down in US due to a slump in economy as we see it now, the accelerated speed of construction and development in rest of the world should allow plenty of opportunity for this company to sell its services, soaring its value.

the historical prices are good in the last 3 months

I believe there is one more shoe to drop - final fine determination related to the Asian conspiracy thing.
But, I don't care. I've been loyal to this one since 2003 (I think). Let it ride!!

Cutting edge manufacturing technology. Its been a wild ride, but the numbers should finally...

http://stockcharts.com/charts/gallery.html?FARO

... be back to normal within the year. Business as usual for this company is PAR ($100-ps) for the course.

What could possibly go wrong now?
-GE acquires it before it achieves its potential
-a major leap frog in technology
I'll accept the risk.

Superb technology. Bought a position long ago, looking to add more now.

Yes-man, long-term, bought 1/25/08;
Small-cap $0.36 B, tech;
ROE 7.8, ROA 6.1, P/E 24.6, Beta 2.46

Momentum is gone, but good products and growth still present

FARO Technologies makes these 3 dimensional laser measuring tools that totally transform a lot of manufacturing and repair industries. There is no doubt that adoption of this technology will grow for years. Problem is that management has fumbled the finances a few times, causing unpleasant surprises like the recent 40% drop in share price after the most recent quarter. I am unlikely to own due to management, but I think it is a fast growing company that is pretty cheap right now.

Down but not out!

FARO was a bargain in the low 20's a couple of years ago. I never thought we would see anything close to that again (esp when it was over $50/shr). Well, we're close. With much of its sales overseas and new products that have little or no competition coming online and $40M in cash (with nearly no debt), FARO is sitting pretty. I put more real money on this pick, too.

Muhahaha!