Stephens Reaffirms Equal Weight Rating for STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA)

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Stephens in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $28.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Stephens’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 76.65% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on STAA. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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. William Blair lowered shares of STAAR Surgical from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BTIG Research downgraded shares of STAAR Surgical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho downgraded STAAR Surgical from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $45.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on STAAR Surgical from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, STAAR Surgical has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.43.

STAAR Surgical Stock Performance

STAA traded down $6.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $15.85. 2,765,731 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 700,355. The stock has a market capitalization of $781.14 million, a P/E ratio of 35.84 and a beta of 0.62. STAAR Surgical has a one year low of $13.50 and a one year high of $52.68. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.33.

Insider Activity at STAAR Surgical

In related news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. acquired 23,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.33 per share, for a total transaction of $559,590.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 10,848,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $263,947,192.23. This trade represents a 0.21 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 105,876 shares of company stock worth $2,487,168. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of STAA. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in STAAR Surgical by 2.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,174,499 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $43,641,000 after acquiring an additional 31,212 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in STAAR Surgical during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $336,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. boosted its stake in STAAR Surgical by 44.3% in the 3rd quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 168,800 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,271,000 after purchasing an additional 51,800 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 411.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 214,750 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,978,000 after buying an additional 172,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in STAAR Surgical during the 2nd quarter worth $1,135,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.70% of the company’s stock.

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.