Squarepoint Ops LLC Acquires 52,488 Shares of STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA)

Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA - Free Report) by 81.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,074 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 52,488 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned approximately 0.24% of STAAR Surgical worth $2,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of STAA. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in STAAR Surgical during the 4th quarter worth about $502,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in STAAR Surgical in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,926,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in STAAR Surgical by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,906 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 4,590 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in STAAR Surgical by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 28,123 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 316.0% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 86,771 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,107,000 after purchasing an additional 65,912 shares in the last quarter. 96.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. bought 108,720 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.96 per share, with a total value of $1,952,611.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,182,995 shares of the company's stock, valued at $218,806,590.20. The trade was a 0.90% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders bought a total of 1,187,117 shares of company stock valued at $19,536,469 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

STAAR Surgical Trading Down 2.6%

NASDAQ STAA traded down $0.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $17.86. 752,069 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 832,634. STAAR Surgical has a 12 month low of $13.50 and a 12 month high of $49.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.71. The company has a market capitalization of $884.53 million, a P/E ratio of -43.56 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on STAA. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on STAAR Surgical from $40.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of STAAR Surgical from $38.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BTIG Research lowered shares of STAAR Surgical from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of STAAR Surgical from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, STAAR Surgical presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.63.

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.