Magnetar Financial LLC Invests $32.36 Million in STAAR Surgical Company $STAA

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,204,371 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $32,361,000. Magnetar Financial LLC owned about 2.42% of STAAR Surgical as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of STAA. Broadwood Capital Inc. raised its stake in STAAR Surgical by 8.5% during the second quarter. Broadwood Capital Inc. now owns 13,519,491 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $226,857,000 after buying an additional 1,064,227 shares during the last quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 16.5% during the 2nd quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,984,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $50,084,000 after acquiring an additional 421,840 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,192,821 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $20,018,000 after acquiring an additional 3,335 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,153,895 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $19,362,000 after acquiring an additional 168,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Associates Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical in the 3rd quarter worth about $24,535,000. 96.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at STAAR Surgical

In other news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. acquired 27,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $22.05 per share, for a total transaction of $606,044.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 15,453,629 shares in the company, valued at $340,752,519.45. The trade was a 0.18% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders purchased a total of 434,138 shares of company stock worth $9,424,176 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

STAA stock opened at $17.23 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $19.46 and its 200-day moving average is $23.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $853.06 million, a PE ratio of -10.57 and a beta of 1.05. STAAR Surgical Company has a 1 year low of $14.69 and a 1 year high of $30.81.

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.37) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.51). STAAR Surgical had a negative net margin of 33.60% and a negative return on equity of 10.03%. The firm had revenue of $57.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.54 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that STAAR Surgical Company will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on STAA shares. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on STAAR Surgical from $30.75 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on STAAR Surgical from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $18.94.

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. It markets its products to health care providers, including ophthalmic surgeons, vision and surgical centers, hospitals, government facilities, and distributors, as well as products are primarily used by ophthalmologists.