STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Downgraded to “Neutral” Rating by Mizuho

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Mizuho from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They currently have a $17.00 price objective on the medical instruments supplier’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $45.00. Mizuho’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 22.30% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research downgraded shares of STAAR Surgical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of STAAR Surgical from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens upgraded shares of STAAR Surgical to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, William Blair lowered shares of STAAR Surgical from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.50.

STAAR Surgical Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of STAA opened at $21.88 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $23.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.73 and a beta of 0.62. STAAR Surgical has a 12-month low of $21.13 and a 12-month high of $52.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at STAAR Surgical

In other news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. purchased 8,221 shares of STAAR Surgical stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.50 per share, for a total transaction of $176,751.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,878,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $233,877,150.50. This represents a 0.08 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have bought a total of 105,876 shares of company stock worth $2,487,168 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On STAAR Surgical

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical in the third quarter worth about $50,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical in the third quarter worth about $128,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 12.7% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 78.3% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. 96.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.