STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $23.56, but opened at $24.48. STAAR Surgical shares last traded at $24.6150, with a volume of 212,526 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on STAA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on STAAR Surgical from $28.00 to $30.75 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of STAAR Surgical from $28.00 to $30.75 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, STAAR Surgical presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $23.42.

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.71. The company has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.28 and a beta of 1.01.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. purchased 797,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.86 per share, with a total value of $22,217,959.96. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 15,019,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $418,443,019.26. This trade represents a 5.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased 1,500,000 shares of company stock worth $41,061,615 in the last quarter. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 2,605.1% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,055 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 74.1% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,563 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in STAAR Surgical by 1,693.0% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,044 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,930 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in STAAR Surgical by 1,564.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,679 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,518 shares during the period. 96.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.