STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Raised to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded STAAR Surgical to a Hold, but analyst views remain mixed — Canaccord upgraded to Buy with a $27 target, Wedbush raised its target to $26 (Neutral), Morgan Stanley started with Underweight, and the consensus rating is Hold with a $19.93 price target.
• STAAR missed March-quarter expectations (EPS and revenue) despite revenue rising 18% year‑over‑year; the company issued a bullish preliminary Q1 sales outlook (≈$90M) that boosted sentiment, yet analysts still forecast negative full‑year EPS and ongoing profitability concerns.
• Insiders increased exposure: Broadwood Partners bought 316,017 shares at about $18.61 and insiders purchased 670,213 shares in the last quarter, signaling notable insider buying activity.

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of STAAR Surgical from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Friday, January 16th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $13.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of STAAR Surgical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.93.

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

NASDAQ STAA opened at $26.44 on Friday. STAAR Surgical has a 1 year low of $15.42 and a 1 year high of $30.81. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.22 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.63.

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.51). The firm had revenue of $57.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.54 million. STAAR Surgical had a negative return on equity of 10.03% and a negative net margin of 33.60%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that STAAR Surgical will post -1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at STAAR Surgical

In other news, Director Broadwood Partners, L.P. acquired 316,017 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.61 per share, for a total transaction of $5,881,076.37. Following the purchase, the director owned 16,123,842 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $300,064,699.62. The trade was a 2.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders bought 670,213 shares of company stock valued at $12,266,249. Insiders own 0.59% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STAAR Surgical

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in STAAR Surgical by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in STAAR Surgical by 375.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,919 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 4,673 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in STAAR Surgical by 9,928.9% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 4,468 shares during the period. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of STAAR Surgical during the third quarter valued at about $199,000. 96.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More STAAR Surgical News

Here are the key news stories impacting STAAR Surgical this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Preliminary Q1 net sales came in well ahead of expectations (sales more than doubled vs. year-ago), signaling stronger demand and improving revenue momentum for STAA. Preliminary Net Sales
• Positive Sentiment: STAAR issued a bullish sales outlook (coverage cites a ~$90M sales outlook), which investors interpreted as “blowout” guidance versus prior expectations and lifted sentiment. Blowout Sales Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity upgraded STAA from Hold to Buy and raised its price target to $27, adding credible analyst support to the rally. Canaccord Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Wedbush raised its price target to $26 but maintained a Neutral rating, a modestly constructive move that stops short of a full buy call. Wedbush Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Broad market coverage (Bloomberg, Seeking Alpha, MarketWatch and others) increased visibility and trading volume; media attention can amplify intraday moves but doesn’t change fundamentals by itself. Bloomberg Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: STAAR still has a recent history of negative EPS and missed consensus in its March quarter report; profitability remains a concern and analysts still forecast negative full‑year EPS. Profitability Background
• Neutral Sentiment: The company reportedly updated Q1 guidance in a brief release but the published entry lacked a clear EPS figure; investors should watch the formal filing/earnings release for details. Guidance Note

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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