STAAR Surgical Company (STAA) – What Are Investment Firms Thinking About This Stock?

Shares of STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.45.

Several research firms recently issued reports on STAA. Zacks Research upgraded shares of STAAR Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded STAAR Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Wedbush reduced their target price on STAAR Surgical from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. William Blair set a $33.00 price target on STAAR Surgical in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on STAAR Surgical from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STAAR Surgical

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,669 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in STAAR Surgical in the first quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in STAAR Surgical by 2,867.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 11,008 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 10,637 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in STAAR Surgical in the second quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of STAAR Surgical during the second quarter worth $235,000. 96.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

STAAR Surgical Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STAA opened at $22.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 323.05 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $22.38 and its 200 day moving average is $25.56. STAAR Surgical has a 52 week low of $15.59 and a 52 week high of $35.87.

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.17. STAAR Surgical had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The business had revenue of $93.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.34) earnings per share. STAAR Surgical’s revenue was up 111.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that STAAR Surgical will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

STAAR Surgical declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 24th that allows the company to buy back $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

STAAR Surgical Company Profile

STAAR Surgical is a medical device company focused on ophthalmic surgery and vision correction. The company develops, manufactures and markets implantable lenses and related products designed to reduce or eliminate dependence on glasses or contact lenses.

Its principal product line is the EVO Visian Implantable Collamer Lens (ICL), a lens implanted inside the eye to correct myopia, with or without astigmatism. Unlike procedures that remove corneal tissue, ICL surgery preserves the eye’s natural lens and is designed to be removable.