Rhumbline Advisers Sells 706 Shares of STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA)

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its position in shares of STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,505 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 706 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.28% of STAAR Surgical worth $2,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in STAAR Surgical by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 290,753 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,062,000 after acquiring an additional 13,169 shares in the last quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in STAAR Surgical during the fourth quarter valued at about $510,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical in the fourth quarter worth approximately $292,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 30,144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 2,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych grew its holdings in 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 valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at STAAR Surgical

In related news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. bought 34,296 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.44 per share, with a total value of $598,122.24. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 12,319,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,855,411.04. The trade was a 0.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 844,490 shares of company stock worth $13,751,345. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on STAA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on STAAR Surgical in a report on Monday, April 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $17.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.63.

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STAA opened at $16.99 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $17.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $841.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.44 and a beta of 0.63. STAAR Surgical has a 1 year low of $13.50 and a 1 year high of $49.86.

STAAR Surgical announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, May 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $30.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.