STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Shares Sold by Millennium Management LLC

Millennium Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA - Free Report) by 18.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 759,141 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 173,179 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 1.54% of STAAR Surgical worth $18,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 349.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 91,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,406,000 after purchasing an additional 71,301 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in STAAR Surgical by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 36,374 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $884,000 after buying an additional 6,354 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in STAAR Surgical by 5,700.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 96,585 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,346,000 after acquiring an additional 94,920 shares during the period. Defender Capital LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Defender Capital LLC. now owns 701,567 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $17,041,000 after acquiring an additional 23,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 290,753 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $7,062,000 after acquiring an additional 13,169 shares during the last quarter. 96.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. acquired 497,631 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.91 per share, for a total transaction of $7,917,309.21. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 13,194,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $209,919,881.10. This trade represents a 3.92% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have bought 1,446,433 shares of company stock worth $23,957,807. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Mizuho cut STAAR Surgical from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded STAAR Surgical from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BTIG Research lowered STAAR Surgical from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on STAAR Surgical from $38.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.63.

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

NASDAQ STAA traded up $0.38 on Tuesday, hitting $19.06. The company had a trading volume of 33,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 824,662. The company's fifty day moving average price is $17.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.00. The company has a market capitalization of $944.16 million, a PE ratio of -46.44 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 share repurchase program on Friday, May 16th that allows the company to buyback $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management 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.