STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Shares Up 4.5% – Should You Buy?

STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA)’s stock price rose 4.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $19.04 and last traded at $18.66. Approximately 115,316 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 1,497,409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on STAA. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on STAAR Surgical in a research report on Friday, January 16th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $13.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of STAAR Surgical from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, STAAR Surgical has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $19.21.

STAAR Surgical Trading Up 4.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $919.41 million, a PE ratio of -11.39 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.53.

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

Insider Activity at STAAR Surgical

In other STAAR Surgical news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. purchased 336,946 shares of STAAR Surgical stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.62 per share, for a total transaction of $7,284,772.52. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,356,437 shares in the company, valued at $332,006,167.94. This trade represents a 2.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 1,104,351 shares of company stock valued at $21,690,426. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STAA. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,243,000. Alpine Associates Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of STAAR Surgical during the third quarter worth $24,535,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in STAAR Surgical in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,708,000. Credit Industriel ET Commercial purchased a new position in STAAR Surgical in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,258,000. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in STAAR Surgical in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,632,000. 96.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About STAAR Surgical

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.