Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $4.47 Million Holdings in STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA - Free Report) by 45.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 184,140 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 57,129 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.37% of STAAR Surgical worth $4,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in STAA. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in STAAR Surgical during the 4th quarter worth about $180,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in STAAR Surgical in the 4th quarter worth about $278,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical in the 4th quarter worth approximately $292,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical in the fourth quarter worth approximately $298,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in STAAR Surgical by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 12,956 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 3,871 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on STAA. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on STAAR Surgical in a report on Monday, April 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $17.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Mizuho cut STAAR Surgical from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of STAAR Surgical from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.63.

STAAR Surgical Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ STAA traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 29,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 825,695. STAAR Surgical has a one year low of $13.50 and a one year high of $49.86. The company has a market cap of $890.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.87 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.89.

STAAR Surgical declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, May 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $30.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at STAAR Surgical

In other STAAR Surgical news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. purchased 93,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.54 per share, with a total value of $1,633,394.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,074,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $211,782,783.50. This trade represents a 0.78% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 1,187,117 shares of company stock valued at $19,536,469. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.