Short Interest in STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Decreases By 30.1%

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,920,000 shares, a decrease of 30.1% from the October 15th total of 4,180,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 746,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on STAA. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of STAAR Surgical from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on STAAR Surgical from $41.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, STAAR Surgical currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in STAAR Surgical by 1.0% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 42,577 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,630,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 0.8% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 77,100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,951,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 1.5% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 36,931 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,406,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,892 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in STAAR Surgical by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 15,441 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $591,000 after buying an additional 1,560 shares during the period. 96.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

STAAR Surgical Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ STAA traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 495,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 712,914. STAAR Surgical has a one year low of $26.62 and a one year high of $52.68. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.59 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.28.

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.