STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Earns Hold Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their hold rating on shares of STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on STAA. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on STAAR Surgical from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on STAAR Surgical from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on STAAR Surgical from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of STAAR Surgical from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $45.57.

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

Shares of STAA opened at $30.39 on Thursday. STAAR Surgical has a 12 month low of $26.66 and a 12 month high of $52.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $36.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.46. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 98.03 and a beta of 0.58.

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $99.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.22 million. STAAR Surgical had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 5.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that STAAR Surgical will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arthur C. Butcher bought 1,315 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $37.99 per share, for a total transaction of $49,956.85. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $159,861.92. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STAAR Surgical

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in STAAR Surgical by 313.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,308 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 38.9% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,690 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of STAAR Surgical during the second quarter valued at approximately $129,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical during the second quarter worth approximately $130,000. 96.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.