STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Sets New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Jefferies Financial Group downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $13.50 and last traded at $14.52, with a volume of 1048693 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.88.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Wednesday. BTIG Research cut STAAR Surgical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. William Blair lowered shares of STAAR Surgical from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho lowered shares of STAAR Surgical from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. acquired 8,221 shares of STAAR Surgical stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.50 per share, for a total transaction of $176,751.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 10,878,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $233,877,150.50. This trade represents a 0.08 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders bought 105,876 shares of company stock worth $2,487,168. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of STAAR Surgical

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of STAA. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new stake in shares of STAAR Surgical during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in STAAR Surgical in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical during the third quarter valued at approximately $128,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 78.3% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. 96.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

STAAR Surgical Trading Down 24.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $812.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.45 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $23.75 and a 200-day moving average of $29.24.

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.