Northern Trust Corp Lowers Stock Position in STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA)

Northern Trust Corp decreased its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA - Free Report) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 521,941 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 105,846 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.06% of STAAR Surgical worth $12,678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in STAAR Surgical during the fourth quarter worth $36,411,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in STAAR Surgical by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,855,570 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $142,232,000 after acquiring an additional 319,441 shares during the last quarter. Yunqi Capital Ltd increased its stake in STAAR Surgical by 48.9% during the fourth quarter. Yunqi Capital Ltd now owns 767,413 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $18,640,000 after acquiring an additional 252,113 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in STAAR Surgical by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 853,370 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $20,728,000 after acquiring an additional 171,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in STAAR Surgical by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 377,249 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $9,163,000 after acquiring an additional 101,373 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.70% of the company's stock.

STAAR Surgical Trading Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:STAA traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $18.77. The company had a trading volume of 725,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 824,197. The firm has a market capitalization of $929.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.78 and a beta of 0.65. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $17.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.30. STAAR Surgical has a 12-month low of $13.50 and a 12-month high of $49.86.

STAAR Surgical declared that its board has initiated 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 buy up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at STAAR Surgical

In other STAAR Surgical news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. purchased 108,720 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.96 per share, with a total value of $1,952,611.20. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 12,182,995 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $218,806,590.20. This represents a 0.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 1,446,433 shares of company stock worth $23,957,807. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho cut STAAR Surgical from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on STAAR Surgical from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. William Blair cut STAAR Surgical from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group cut STAAR Surgical from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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.