Jane Street Group LLC Sells 71,466 Shares of STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA)

Jane Street Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) by 86.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,614 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 71,466 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC’s holdings in STAAR Surgical were worth $282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 30,396 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 1,796 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 30,144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 2,318 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 35,613 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $866,000 after acquiring an additional 3,066 shares during the last quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych lifted its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 39,500 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $959,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC lifted its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 23,210 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $564,000 after acquiring an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. 96.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other STAAR Surgical news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. acquired 93,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.54 per share, with a total value of $1,633,394.96. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 12,074,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,782,783.50. The trade was a 0.78% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 937,614 shares of company stock valued at $15,384,739. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

STAAR Surgical Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of STAA opened at $17.14 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $17.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $848.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.80 and a beta of 0.65. STAAR Surgical has a 1-year low of $13.50 and a 1-year high of $49.86.

STAAR Surgical announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, May 16th that allows the company to buyback $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Monday, April 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $17.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Mizuho cut shares of STAAR Surgical from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of STAAR Surgical from $38.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.