Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new position in STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 21,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $510,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 290,753 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,062,000 after buying an additional 13,169 shares during the last quarter. Defender Capital LLC. raised its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Defender Capital LLC. now owns 701,567 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $17,041,000 after purchasing an additional 23,950 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 5,700.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 96,585 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,346,000 after purchasing an additional 94,920 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 36,374 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 6,354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 411.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 214,750 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,978,000 after purchasing an additional 172,779 shares during the last quarter. 96.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on STAA. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of STAAR Surgical from $28.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of STAAR Surgical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of STAAR Surgical from $38.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho downgraded shares of STAAR Surgical from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded shares of STAAR Surgical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, STAAR Surgical currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.86.

Insider Transactions at STAAR Surgical

In related news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. bought 8,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.50 per share, with a total value of $176,751.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 10,878,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,877,150.50. The trade was a 0.08 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders bought a total of 402,024 shares of company stock valued at $6,936,904 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STAA opened at $16.85 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $22.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.32. STAAR Surgical has a 1 year low of $13.50 and a 1 year high of $52.68.

STAAR Surgical 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.