Northern Trust Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA)

Northern Trust Corp cut its position in shares of STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 521,941 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 105,846 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.06% of STAAR Surgical worth $12,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in STAAR Surgical by 349.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 91,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,406,000 after purchasing an additional 71,301 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 80.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,844 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after acquiring an additional 14,162 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 36,374 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $884,000 after acquiring an additional 6,354 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in STAAR Surgical by 5,700.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 96,585 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,346,000 after acquiring an additional 94,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Defender Capital LLC. grew its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Defender Capital LLC. now owns 701,567 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $17,041,000 after acquiring an additional 23,950 shares in the last quarter. 96.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STAAR Surgical news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. bought 249,503 shares of STAAR Surgical stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $16.64 per share, with a total value of $4,151,729.92. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 11,953,198 shares in the company, valued at $198,901,214.72. The trade was a 2.13% 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 link. Insiders purchased a total of 1,446,433 shares of company stock valued at $23,957,807 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STAA opened at $19.22 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $17.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.58. STAAR Surgical has a 1-year low of $13.50 and a 1-year high of $49.86. The company has a market cap of $951.89 million, a PE ratio of -46.88 and a beta of 0.65.

STAAR Surgical announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, May 16th that allows the company to repurchase $30.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STAA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded STAAR Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of STAAR Surgical from $38.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Monday, April 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $17.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lowered shares of STAAR Surgical from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $45.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.63.

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.