STAAR Surgical Company $STAA Shares Acquired by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in STAAR Surgical Company by 26.8%, acquiring an additional 33,037 shares, bringing its total ownership to 156,225 shares valued at approximately $2.75 million.
• STAAR Surgical's Board of Directors has approved a $30 million stock buyback program, allowing the company to repurchase up to 3.2% of its shares, indicating that management believes the stock is undervalued.
• Despite a recent surge in hedge fund activities, analyst ratings for STAAR Surgical remain mixed, with a consensus "Hold" rating and a target price of $20.67, reflecting overall cautious sentiment from market experts.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA - Free Report) by 26.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,225 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 33,037 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.32% of STAAR Surgical worth $2,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 1,693.0% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,044 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,930 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 29.6% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,076 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 3,217 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 4,086.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,651 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 14,301 shares during the period. Bridgefront Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC now owns 10,792 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 2,306 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in STAAR Surgical in the first quarter valued at $294,000. 96.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on STAA. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of STAAR Surgical from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of STAAR Surgical from $20.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of STAAR Surgical to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $28.00 target price on shares of STAAR Surgical and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.67.

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

STAAR Surgical stock traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $27.49. The stock had a trading volume of 618,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,374,533. STAAR Surgical Company has a 52 week low of $13.50 and a 52 week high of $38.60. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.24 and a beta of 0.61. The business's 50 day moving average price is $20.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.69.

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

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.