Ameriprise Financial Inc. Raises Position in STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) by 45.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 184,140 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,129 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.37% of STAAR Surgical worth $4,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of STAA. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 349.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 91,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,406,000 after purchasing an additional 71,301 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in STAAR Surgical by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 36,374 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $884,000 after purchasing an additional 6,354 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 5,700.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 96,585 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,346,000 after acquiring an additional 94,920 shares during the last quarter. Defender Capital LLC. boosted its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Defender Capital LLC. now owns 701,567 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $17,041,000 after purchasing an additional 23,950 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 290,753 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,062,000 after acquiring an additional 13,169 shares during the period. 96.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

STAAR Surgical Stock Performance

STAA stock opened at $18.68 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $925.15 million, a PE ratio of -45.56 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $17.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.08. STAAR Surgical has a fifty-two week low of $13.50 and a fifty-two week high of $49.86.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. bought 249,503 shares of STAAR Surgical stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.64 per share, with a total value of $4,151,729.92. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders acquired 1,446,433 shares of company stock valued at $23,957,807 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on STAA shares. BTIG Research downgraded shares of STAAR Surgical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of STAAR Surgical from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Monday, April 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $17.00 target price for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, STAAR Surgical currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.63.

STAAR Surgical 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.