STAAR Surgical Company (STAA) – What Are Researchers Saying About This Stock?

STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $28.45.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of STAAR Surgical from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wedbush dropped their price target on STAAR Surgical from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised STAAR Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $28.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, UBS Group set a $28.00 price target on STAAR Surgical in a research report on Monday, August 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On STAAR Surgical

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STAA. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in STAAR Surgical by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,669 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new stake in STAAR Surgical in the first quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System bought a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $235,000. Institutional investors own 96.70% of the company’s stock.

STAAR Surgical Trading Up 4.1%

Shares of NASDAQ STAA opened at $22.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 321.33 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.58. STAAR Surgical has a 12-month low of $15.59 and a 12-month high of $35.87.

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

STAAR Surgical announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 24th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.