STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Shares Up 5.3% - Here's Why

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA - Get Free Report) shares were up 5.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $17.55 and last traded at $17.56. Approximately 84,390 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 838,049 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.67.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STAA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on STAAR Surgical from $38.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen cut STAAR Surgical from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho lowered 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, STAAR Surgical has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.63.

STAAR Surgical Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.73 and a 200-day moving average of $20.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $885.03 million, a P/E ratio of -43.59 and a beta of 0.63.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STAAR Surgical news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. purchased 8,200 shares of STAAR Surgical stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.08 per share, for a total transaction of $123,656.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 13,518,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,860,352.28. This trade represents a 0.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have bought a total of 937,614 shares of company stock valued at $15,384,739 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On STAAR Surgical

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Armistice Capital LLC lifted its stake in STAAR Surgical by 244.0% in the first quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 3,000,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $52,890,000 after acquiring an additional 2,128,000 shares during the period. Broadwood Capital Inc. raised its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Broadwood Capital Inc. now owns 12,455,264 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $219,586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606,633 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of STAAR Surgical in the 4th quarter worth about $36,411,000. Yunqi Capital Ltd lifted its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 152.5% in the 1st quarter. Yunqi Capital Ltd now owns 1,937,589 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $34,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170,176 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,855,570 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $142,232,000 after purchasing an additional 319,441 shares in the last quarter. 96.70% of the stock is 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.