UBS Group AG Grows Stock Position in STAAR Surgical Company $STAA

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its STAAR Surgical stake by 39.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 92,321 additional shares and lifting its holdings to 327,852 shares worth about $7.57 million.
• Insider buying has also been notable: Broadwood Partners, L.P. purchased 316,017 shares in March, and insiders have bought 670,213 shares over the last 90 days. Company insiders now own about 39.9% of the stock.
• STAAR Surgical posted a strong quarterly beat, reporting $0.10 EPS on revenue of $93.52 million, both above expectations. Analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $27.81.

UBS Group AG grew its position in STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA - Free Report) by 39.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 327,852 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 92,321 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned about 0.66% of STAAR Surgical worth $7,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 14,609 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in STAAR Surgical by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 150,896 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $4,055,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in STAAR Surgical by 2,605.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,055 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in STAAR Surgical by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,390 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in STAAR Surgical by 3.6% in the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 57,625 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 1,979 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at STAAR Surgical

In related news, Director Broadwood Partners, L.P. bought 316,017 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $18.61 per share, for a total transaction of $5,881,076.37. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 16,123,842 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $300,064,699.62. This trade represents a 2.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 670,213 shares of company stock valued at $12,266,249. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on STAA shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded STAAR Surgical from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on STAAR Surgical from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on STAAR Surgical from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded STAAR Surgical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on STAAR Surgical from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, STAAR Surgical presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.81.

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

Shares of STAA opened at $32.31 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.65. The company has a quick ratio of 4.31, a current ratio of 5.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. STAAR Surgical Company has a twelve month low of $15.59 and a twelve month high of $35.87. The company has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -75.14 and a beta of 1.20.

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.05. STAAR Surgical had a positive return on equity of 3.31% and a negative net margin of 7.24%.The firm had revenue of $93.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.72 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.10) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 119.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that STAAR Surgical Company will post -0.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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. It markets its products to health care providers, including ophthalmic surgeons, vision and surgical centers, hospitals, government facilities, and distributors, as well as products are primarily used by ophthalmologists.

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