STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.9375.

STAA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on STAAR Surgical in a research note on Friday, January 16th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $13.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wedbush assumed coverage on STAAR Surgical in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on STAAR Surgical from $30.75 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th.

STAAR Surgical Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of STAA stock opened at $18.84 on Friday. STAAR Surgical has a 1 year low of $14.69 and a 1 year high of $30.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $19.16 and its 200-day moving average is $23.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $932.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.56 and a beta of 1.05.

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.51). STAAR Surgical had a negative net margin of 33.60% and a negative return on equity of 10.03%. The company had revenue of $57.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.54 million. STAAR Surgical’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that STAAR Surgical will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at STAAR Surgical

In related news, Director Broadwood Partners, L.P. acquired 316,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.61 per share, with a total value of $5,881,076.37. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 16,123,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,064,699.62. This trade represents a 2.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 1,104,351 shares of company stock worth $21,690,426. 0.59% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in STAAR Surgical by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,390 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in STAAR Surgical by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 544,843 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $9,606,000 after purchasing an additional 136,390 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 123,347 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,175,000 after purchasing an additional 12,841 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 74.1% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,563 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the period. Finally, Yunqi Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Yunqi Capital Ltd now owns 2,411,288 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,461,000 after purchasing an additional 473,699 shares during the period. 96.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

STAAR Surgical Company Profile

STAAR Surgical Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells implantable lenses for the eye, and companion delivery systems to deliver the lenses into the eye. The company provides implantable Collamer lens product family (ICLs) to treat visual disorders, such as myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and presbyopia. It markets its products to health care providers, including ophthalmic surgeons, vision and surgical centers, hospitals, government facilities, and distributors, as well as products are primarily used by ophthalmologists.