Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Position in STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 300,204 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,451 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.61% of STAAR Surgical worth $5,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STAA. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in STAAR Surgical in the fourth quarter worth $36,411,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,855,570 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $142,232,000 after acquiring an additional 319,441 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in STAAR Surgical by 25.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 853,370 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $20,728,000 after purchasing an additional 171,046 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC increased its position in STAAR Surgical by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 191,398 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,649,000 after buying an additional 109,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Broadwood Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Broadwood Capital Inc. now owns 10,848,631 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $263,513,000 after acquiring an additional 80,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.70% of the company’s stock.

STAAR Surgical Trading Up 1.4%

STAAR Surgical stock opened at $17.09 on Thursday. STAAR Surgical Company has a 52 week low of $13.50 and a 52 week high of $46.10. The stock has a market cap of $846.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.87 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $17.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.76.

STAAR Surgical declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 reacquire up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on STAA. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of STAAR Surgical from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on STAAR Surgical in a research report on Monday, April 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $17.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of STAAR Surgical to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.00.

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.