STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Shares Down 8.7% on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) were down 8.7% during trading on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $41.37 and last traded at $42.57. Approximately 262,022 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 719,635 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.65.

The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.12). STAAR Surgical had a return on equity of 8.73% and a net margin of 6.62%. The business had revenue of $77.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.34 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.05 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STAA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of STAAR Surgical from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Monday, April 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on STAAR Surgical from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of STAAR Surgical from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of STAAR Surgical from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Aimee S. Weisner bought 1,750 shares of STAAR Surgical stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $38.11 per share, for a total transaction of $66,692.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,864 shares in the company, valued at $414,027.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STAAR Surgical

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of STAA. Broadwood Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Broadwood Capital Inc. now owns 10,537,835 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $328,886,000 after buying an additional 1,273,408 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 10.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,425,627 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $218,002,000 after purchasing an additional 492,500 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in STAAR Surgical in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,615,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 296.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 281,547 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,787,000 after buying an additional 210,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in STAAR Surgical in the 1st quarter valued at $7,833,000. 96.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.40 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.87.

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.