STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.06, FiscalAI reports. STAAR Surgical had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The business had revenue of $83.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.73 million.

Here are the key takeaways from STAAR Surgical’s conference call:

• Third-quarter net sales were $83.4 million, down 12% year over year due to the prior-year China deferred-sales comparison; excluding that item, sales grew 21%. China sales rose 31% on the adjusted comparison, while distributor unit shipments in the market were up 12.4% through the first nine months.
• Growth was broad outside China: sales increased 13%, led by 14% growth in the Americas and 31% growth in EMEA. APAC excluding China grew 4%, though Japan and South Korea faced market and currency headwinds.
• Third-quarter gross margin was 70.9%, pressured by ERP-related production inefficiencies, freight, tariffs, and inventory provisions; management said unit costs will remain elevated through year-end. It expects margin to improve in the fourth quarter and further in 2027 as production and yields recover.
• STAAR ended the quarter with $206.4 million in cash and investments and no debt, and its board authorized a $50 million share repurchase program. Management said nine-month results included record revenue, net income, and free cash flow.
• The company expects to begin first-in-human enrollment for two Collamer-based presbyopia products in the coming months, subject to regulatory authorizations. The trials are an early step in management’s plan to broaden its product portfolio; no launch timing or trial details were provided.

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

STAA traded up $2.00 on Wednesday, reaching $27.17. 969,641 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,097,303. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 388.20 and a beta of 1.22. STAAR Surgical has a twelve month low of $15.59 and a twelve month high of $35.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $22.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on STAA shares. Veritas Investment Research set a $31.00 price target on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on STAAR Surgical from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. UBS Group set a $28.00 target price on STAAR Surgical in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised STAAR Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, William Blair set a $33.00 price target on STAAR Surgical in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.45.

STAAR Surgical declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 24th that allows the company to buy back $50 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About STAAR Surgical

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.