STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $16.89, but opened at $16.28. STAAR Surgical shares last traded at $16.26, with a volume of 28,418 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on STAA shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Monday, April 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $17.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho lowered 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. William Blair cut STAAR Surgical from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, STAAR Surgical currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $24.25.

STAAR Surgical Stock Up 0.8 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $17.22 and a 200-day moving average of $22.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $889.33 million, a P/E ratio of -43.98 and a beta of 0.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. purchased 259,616 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $14.96 per share, with a total value of $3,883,855.36. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 11,137,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $166,618,840.08. This represents a 2.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 1,742,581 shares of company stock worth $28,407,543. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 411.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 214,750 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $7,978,000 after purchasing an additional 172,779 shares in the last quarter. Defender Capital LLC. boosted its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Defender Capital LLC. now owns 701,567 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $17,041,000 after acquiring an additional 23,950 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in STAAR Surgical by 5,700.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 96,585 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,346,000 after acquiring an additional 94,920 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 349.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 91,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,406,000 after acquiring an additional 71,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 174.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 23,785 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 15,128 shares in the last quarter. 96.70% of the stock is owned by 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.