Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC Makes New Investment in STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA)

Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 20,663 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $502,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical in the fourth quarter worth $36,411,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,855,570 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $142,232,000 after purchasing an additional 319,441 shares during the period. Yunqi Capital Ltd increased its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 48.9% in the fourth quarter. Yunqi Capital Ltd now owns 767,413 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $18,640,000 after purchasing an additional 252,113 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 853,370 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $20,728,000 after purchasing an additional 171,046 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 191,398 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,649,000 after purchasing an additional 109,870 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.70% of the company’s stock.

STAAR Surgical Stock Up 5.1%

NASDAQ STAA opened at $19.22 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.52. STAAR Surgical has a 12-month low of $13.50 and a 12-month high of $49.86. The firm has a market cap of $951.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -46.88 and a beta of 0.65.

STAAR Surgical announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, May 16th that permits the company to buyback $30.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to purchase up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STAA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on STAAR Surgical from $40.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut STAAR Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on STAAR Surgical in a research note on Monday, April 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $17.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research cut STAAR Surgical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stephens reissued 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 given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at STAAR Surgical

In other news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. bought 249,503 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.64 per share, for a total transaction of $4,151,729.92. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 11,953,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,901,214.72. This trade represents a 2.13% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders acquired a total of 1,446,433 shares of company stock worth $23,957,807 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

STAAR Surgical 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.