STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Shares Down 4.7% – Time to Sell?

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) shares were down 4.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $18.18 and last traded at $18.03. Approximately 66,226 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 823,907 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on STAA shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut STAAR Surgical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen cut STAAR Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, William Blair cut STAAR Surgical from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two 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, STAAR Surgical presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.63.

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $17.75 and a 200 day moving average of $20.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $897.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.24 and a beta of 0.65.

STAAR Surgical declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, May 16th that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to purchase up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STAAR Surgical news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. bought 249,503 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,901,214.72. This trade represents a 2.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders purchased 1,446,433 shares of company stock worth $23,957,807 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On STAAR Surgical

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 1,693.0% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,044 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,930 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 1,564.0% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,679 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 2,518 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in STAAR Surgical during the fourth quarter worth about $180,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in STAAR Surgical during the first quarter worth about $189,000. Finally, Bridgefront Capital LLC boosted its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC now owns 10,792 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 2,306 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.70% of the company’s stock.

About STAAR Surgical

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.