STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Stock Price Down 6.5% – Should You Sell?

STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA) shares were down 6.5% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $17.29 and last traded at $17.1250. Approximately 191,628 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 1,552,084 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on STAA shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on STAAR Surgical from $30.75 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Friday, January 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $13.00 price target for the company. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. One investment 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $18.94.

STAAR Surgical Stock Up 2.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $874.40 million, a PE ratio of -10.83 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $19.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.81.

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.37) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.51). The company had revenue of $57.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.54 million. STAAR Surgical had a negative net margin of 33.60% and a negative return on equity of 10.03%. STAAR Surgical’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that STAAR Surgical Company will post -1.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. purchased 336,946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $21.62 per share, for a total transaction of $7,284,772.52. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 15,356,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $332,006,167.94. This represents a 2.24% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders purchased 434,138 shares of company stock worth $9,424,176 over the last three months. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of STAAR Surgical

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of STAA. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 2,605.1% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,055 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in STAAR Surgical by 61.4% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in STAAR Surgical by 691.0% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,607 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 3,151 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 9,928.9% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 4,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 375.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,919 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 4,673 shares during the last quarter. 96.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.