Jane Street Group LLC Sells 71,466 Shares of STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA)

Jane Street Group LLC cut its position in shares of STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA - Free Report) by 86.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,614 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 71,466 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC's holdings in STAAR Surgical were worth $282,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STAA. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in STAAR Surgical in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $180,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in STAAR Surgical in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $278,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in STAAR Surgical during the fourth quarter worth $292,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in STAAR Surgical in the 4th quarter worth $298,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in STAAR Surgical by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 12,956 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 3,871 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on STAA shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. William Blair lowered STAAR Surgical from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of STAAR Surgical from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of STAAR Surgical from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $24.63.

Insider Activity at STAAR Surgical

In other news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. bought 93,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.54 per share, with a total value of $1,633,394.96. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,074,275 shares in the company, valued at $211,782,783.50. This trade represents a 0.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 937,614 shares of company stock valued at $15,384,739. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

Shares of STAA traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $17.87. The stock had a trading volume of 918,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 847,594. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.47. STAAR Surgical has a twelve month low of $13.50 and a twelve month high of $49.86. The firm has a market cap of $885.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.59 and a beta of 0.63.

STAAR Surgical announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, May 16th that permits the company to buyback $30.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to purchase up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.