STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Trading Down 4.7% - Here's Why

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 4.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $18.18 and last traded at $18.03. 66,226 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 823,907 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on STAA shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on 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 reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on STAAR Surgical from $40.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BTIG Research cut shares of STAAR Surgical from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Mizuho lowered shares of STAAR Surgical from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $24.63.

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average is $17.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.76. The company has a market cap of $884.53 million, a P/E ratio of -43.56 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. bought 93,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.54 per share, with a total value of $1,633,394.96. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,074,275 shares in the company, valued at $211,782,783.50. This trade represents a 0.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 1,187,117 shares of company stock valued at $19,536,469. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of STAAR Surgical

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STAA. US Bancorp DE grew its stake 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 valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,930 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 1,564.0% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,679 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,518 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in STAAR Surgical during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $180,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical in the first quarter worth approximately $189,000. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of STAAR Surgical in the first quarter worth $190,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.