UBS Group AG Boosts Position in STAAR Surgical Company $STAA

UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA) by 39.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 327,852 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 92,321 shares during the period. UBS Group AG’s holdings in STAAR Surgical were worth $7,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,243,000. Alpine Associates Management Inc. acquired a new stake in STAAR Surgical during the third quarter worth about $24,535,000. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in STAAR Surgical during the third quarter worth about $5,708,000. Defender Capital LLC. purchased a new position in STAAR Surgical during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,429,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in STAAR Surgical during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,359,000. 96.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

Shares of STAAR Surgical stock opened at $32.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -75.14 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.65. STAAR Surgical Company has a 12 month low of $15.59 and a 12 month high of $35.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 5.12 and a quick ratio of 4.31.

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $93.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.72 million. STAAR Surgical had a positive return on equity of 3.31% and a negative net margin of 7.24%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 119.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.10) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that STAAR Surgical Company will post -0.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at STAAR Surgical

In related news, Director Broadwood Partners, L.P. acquired 316,017 shares of STAAR Surgical stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.61 per share, for a total transaction of $5,881,076.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,123,842 shares in the company, valued at $300,064,699.62. This represents a 2.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders purchased a total of 670,213 shares of company stock valued at $12,266,249 over the last ninety days. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on STAA. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on STAAR Surgical from $16.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of STAAR Surgical from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STAAR Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of STAAR Surgical from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of STAAR Surgical from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, STAAR Surgical currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.81.

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.