STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Given "Hold" Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their hold rating on shares of STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA - Free Report) in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho cut STAAR Surgical from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of STAAR Surgical from $38.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of STAAR Surgical from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. William Blair lowered STAAR Surgical from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut STAAR Surgical from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.63.

STAAR Surgical Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ STAA traded down $0.09 on Wednesday, hitting $18.68. The stock had a trading volume of 689,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 827,797. The company's 50-day moving average is $17.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.15. STAAR Surgical has a one year low of $13.50 and a one year high of $49.86. The stock has a market cap of $925.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.56 and a beta of 0.65.

STAAR Surgical announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, May 16th that allows the company to repurchase $30.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at STAAR Surgical

In other news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. purchased 108,720 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were bought 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 directly owns 12,182,995 shares in the company, valued at $218,806,590.20. This trade represents a 0.90% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased a total of 1,446,433 shares of company stock worth $23,957,807 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 1,693.0% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,044 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,930 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in STAAR Surgical by 1,564.0% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,679 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 2,518 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical during the fourth quarter worth approximately $180,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of STAAR Surgical in the first quarter valued at approximately $189,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in STAAR Surgical by 29.6% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,076 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 3,217 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.70% of the company's stock.

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.