Wall Street Zen Upgrades STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) to Buy

by · The Markets Daily

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA – Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on STAA. Veritas Investment Research set a $31.00 target price on STAAR Surgical in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on STAAR Surgical from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Wedbush dropped their price target on STAAR Surgical from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised STAAR Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, William Blair set a $33.00 price objective on STAAR Surgical in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, STAAR Surgical presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.45.

Get Our Latest Analysis on STAA

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

Shares of STAA stock opened at $21.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 309.62 and a beta of 1.17. STAAR Surgical has a 52 week low of $15.59 and a 52 week high of $35.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $22.90 and a 200-day moving average of $25.40.

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.17. STAAR Surgical had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The company had revenue of $93.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.34) EPS. STAAR Surgical’s revenue for the quarter was up 111.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that STAAR Surgical will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

STAAR Surgical declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 24th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of STAAR Surgical

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STAA. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,669 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new stake in shares of STAAR Surgical in the first quarter worth about $77,000. Angeles Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of STAAR Surgical in the second quarter worth about $209,000. Arizona State Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of STAAR Surgical in the second quarter worth about $235,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 2,867.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 11,008 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 10,637 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.70% of the company’s stock.

STAAR Surgical Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

STAAR Surgical is a medical device company focused on ophthalmic surgery and vision correction. The company develops, manufactures and markets implantable lenses and related products designed to reduce or eliminate dependence on glasses or contact lenses.

Its principal product line is the EVO Visian Implantable Collamer Lens (ICL), a lens implanted inside the eye to correct myopia, with or without astigmatism. Unlike procedures that remove corneal tissue, ICL surgery preserves the eye’s natural lens and is designed to be removable.

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