STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Trading Down 8.7% Following Weak Earnings

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA)’s stock price dropped 8.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $41.37 and last traded at $42.57. Approximately 262,022 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 719,635 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.65.

The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $77.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.34 million. STAAR Surgical had a return on equity of 8.73% and a net margin of 6.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.05 earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. William Blair raised shares of STAAR Surgical from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of STAAR Surgical from $40.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of STAAR Surgical from $32.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at STAAR Surgical

In other news, Director Aimee S. Weisner bought 1,750 shares of STAAR Surgical stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $38.11 per share, with a total value of $66,692.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $414,027.04. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STAAR Surgical

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STAA. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 36,931 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in STAAR Surgical in the first quarter valued at $2,731,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 0.8% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 77,100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,951,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Defender Capital LLC. grew its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 1.1% during the first quarter. Defender Capital LLC. now owns 730,387 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $27,959,000 after buying an additional 7,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 1.0% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 42,577 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,630,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.70% of the company’s stock.

STAAR Surgical Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.94 and a 200-day moving average of $35.84. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.86 and a beta of 0.80.

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.