Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 42,560 Shares of STAAR Surgical Company $STAA

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its STAAR Surgical stake slightly in the fourth quarter, selling 42,560 shares and ending with 4.23 million shares valued at about $97.6 million, or roughly 8.5% of the company.
• Insider buying was notable: Director Broadwood Partners bought 316,017 shares in March, and insiders have purchased 670,213 shares worth $12.3 million over the past 90 days. Insiders now own 39.9% of STAAR Surgical.
• STAAR Surgical reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $0.10 EPS versus $0.03 expected and revenue of $93.52 million, up 119.6% year over year. The stock was also trading up 4.3% on the day, and analysts currently rate it a consensus Hold with a $19.93 price target.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,226,563 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 42,560 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 8.50% of STAAR Surgical worth $97,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STAA. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,390 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 33.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 544,843 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $9,606,000 after purchasing an additional 136,390 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 123,347 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,175,000 after purchasing an additional 12,841 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,695 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 2,606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 183.2% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 153,371 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,574,000 after purchasing an additional 99,218 shares during the last quarter. 96.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at STAAR Surgical

In related news, Director Broadwood Partners, L.P. bought 316,017 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $18.61 per share, with a total value of $5,881,076.37. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 16,123,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,064,699.62. The trade was a 2.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have bought 670,213 shares of company stock valued at $12,266,249 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 39.90% of the company's stock.

STAAR Surgical Trading Up 4.3%

Shares of NASDAQ STAA opened at $29.40 on Thursday. STAAR Surgical Company has a 1-year low of $15.59 and a 1-year high of $30.81. The company has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of -18.04 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.54.

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.07. STAAR Surgical had a negative net margin of 33.60% and a negative return on equity of 10.03%. The company had revenue of $93.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.72 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.10) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 119.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that STAAR Surgical Company will post -0.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of STAAR Surgical from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of STAAR Surgical from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of STAAR Surgical from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Friday, January 16th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $13.00 target price for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of STAAR Surgical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.93.

STAAR Surgical Company 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. 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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