STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Share Price Breaks Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $23.51 and traded as high as $24.25. STAAR Surgical shares last traded at $24.16, with a volume of 604,863 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Veritas Investment Research set a $31.00 price target on STAAR Surgical in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. William Blair set a $33.00 target price on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of STAAR Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Wedbush reduced their price target on STAAR Surgical from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Thursday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.45.

STAAR Surgical Stock Up 2.6%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 360.62 and a beta of 1.17.

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $93.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.60 million. STAAR Surgical had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 111.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.34) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that STAAR Surgical Company will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

STAAR Surgical declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 24th that authorizes the company to buy back $50 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 5.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STAAR Surgical

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Two Seas Capital LP raised its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 22.6% during the third quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 1,304,957 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $29,505,000 after acquiring an additional 240,568 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in STAAR Surgical during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $24,291,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 39.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 820,782 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $15,348,000 after acquiring an additional 230,582 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in STAAR Surgical during the second quarter valued at $6,578,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 257.7% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 135,200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,528,000 after purchasing an additional 97,400 shares during the period. 96.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.