Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Position in STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA)

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA - Free Report) by 316.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,771 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 65,912 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.18% of STAAR Surgical worth $2,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical in the fourth quarter valued at about $180,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC increased its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC now owns 10,792 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 2,306 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical during the fourth quarter valued at about $278,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical during the fourth quarter valued at about $292,000. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical during the fourth quarter valued at about $298,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on STAA shares. William Blair cut shares of STAAR Surgical from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of STAAR Surgical from $40.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho downgraded shares of STAAR Surgical from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, BTIG Research cut shares of STAAR Surgical from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.63.

Insider Transactions at STAAR Surgical

In related news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. bought 3,620 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.48 per share, with a total value of $63,277.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 12,424,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $217,188,021.12. The trade was a 0.03% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders bought a total of 1,446,433 shares of company stock valued at $23,957,807 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

STAAR Surgical Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STAA traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $18.68. The stock had a trading volume of 689,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 825,596. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.72 and a 200-day moving average of $21.22. The company has a market capitalization of $925.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.56 and a beta of 0.65. STAAR Surgical has a 12-month low of $13.50 and a 12-month high of $49.86.

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

STAAR Surgical 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.