STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Shares Down 6.5% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Reported a large earnings and revenue miss: STAAR posted Q results with EPS of ($0.37) vs. consensus $0.14 and revenue $57.8M vs. $75.5M expected, leaving a negative net margin (~33.6%) and negative ROE.
• Stock reaction and analyst sentiment: Shares fell 6.5% intraday to about $17.13 on light volume, and the consensus rating is "Reduce" with an average price target of $18.94 after several recent target cuts.
• Insiders and institutions are buying: Major shareholder Broadwood and other insiders added shares recently while hedge funds boosted positions, with roughly 96.7% of the float held by institutions.

Shares of STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA - Get Free Report) fell 6.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $17.29 and last traded at $17.1250. 191,628 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 1,552,084 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wedbush initiated coverage on STAAR Surgical in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of STAAR Surgical from $30.75 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of STAAR Surgical from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $18.94.

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $855.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.63 and a beta of 1.04. The stock's 50-day moving average is $19.58 and its 200-day moving average is $23.93.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STAAR Surgical news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. acquired 27,485 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.05 per share, with a total value of $606,044.25. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 15,453,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at $340,752,519.45. This represents a 0.18% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders acquired 434,138 shares of company stock valued at $9,424,176 over the last quarter. 0.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On STAAR Surgical

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Broadwood Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Broadwood Capital Inc. now owns 15,019,491 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $346,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500,000 shares during the last quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 16.5% in the second quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,984,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $50,084,000 after purchasing an additional 421,840 shares during the period. Yunqi Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Yunqi Capital Ltd now owns 2,507,130 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $57,890,000 after buying an additional 7,069 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its stake in STAAR Surgical by 105.3% during the 4th quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 2,472,390 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $57,087,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 112.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,076,743 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $47,952,000 after buying an additional 1,100,484 shares during the period. 96.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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