STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,180,000 shares, a decline of 17.4% from the September 30th total of 5,060,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 818,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on STAA shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of STAAR Surgical from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of STAAR Surgical from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of STAAR Surgical from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on STAAR Surgical from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.57.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur C. Butcher bought 1,315 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $37.99 per share, for a total transaction of $49,956.85. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $159,861.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of STAAR Surgical

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in STAAR Surgical by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 15,087 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 1.0% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 42,577 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,630,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 8.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 5,524 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in STAAR Surgical by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,343 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in STAAR Surgical by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,721 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.70% of the company’s stock.

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STAA traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $30.99. 379,959 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 714,719. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.11. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 89.38 and a beta of 0.59. STAAR Surgical has a twelve month low of $26.66 and a twelve month high of $52.68.

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.09). STAAR Surgical had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 5.60%. The company had revenue of $99.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that STAAR Surgical will post 0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.