SG Americas Securities LLC Increases Stock Position in STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA)

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA - Free Report) by 123.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 49,072 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 27,075 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned about 0.10% of STAAR Surgical worth $865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical in the fourth quarter worth $36,411,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,855,570 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $142,232,000 after buying an additional 319,441 shares in the last quarter. Yunqi Capital Ltd raised its position in STAAR Surgical by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. Yunqi Capital Ltd now owns 767,413 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $18,640,000 after buying an additional 252,113 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in STAAR Surgical by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 853,370 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $20,728,000 after acquiring an additional 171,046 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in STAAR Surgical by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 191,398 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $4,649,000 after acquiring an additional 109,870 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.70% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STAAR Surgical news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. bought 3,620 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.48 per share, for a total transaction of $63,277.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,424,944 shares in the company, valued at $217,188,021.12. This trade represents a 0.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders bought a total of 735,770 shares of company stock valued at $11,798,733 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on STAA. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Monday, April 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $17.00 price objective for the company. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.63.

STAAR Surgical Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ STAA traded down $0.13 on Friday, hitting $16.73. 115,902 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 849,245. The business's 50 day moving average price is $17.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.82. STAAR Surgical Company has a 52-week low of $13.50 and a 52-week high of $49.86. The company has a market capitalization of $828.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.61 and a beta of 0.63.

STAAR Surgical announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors 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.