Alpine Associates Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 913,087 STAAR Surgical Company $STAA

Alpine Associates Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 913,087 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $24,535,000. STAAR Surgical comprises approximately 1.5% of Alpine Associates Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Alpine Associates Management Inc. owned approximately 1.85% of STAAR Surgical as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 3.6% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 14,609 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in STAAR Surgical by 74.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,563 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in STAAR Surgical by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 12,711 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 35,175 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.70% of the company’s stock.

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

NASDAQ:STAA opened at $17.25 on Thursday. STAAR Surgical Company has a 1-year low of $13.50 and a 1-year high of $30.81. The business has a 50 day moving average of $21.79 and a 200 day moving average of $24.75. The company has a market capitalization of $858.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.85 and a beta of 1.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STAA has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Friday, January 16th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $13.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of STAAR Surgical from $28.00 to $30.75 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $20.91.

Insider Activity at STAAR Surgical

In other news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. purchased 797,486 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.86 per share, for a total transaction of $22,217,959.96. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 15,019,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $418,443,019.26. This represents a 5.61% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have acquired 1,934,138 shares of company stock valued at $50,485,791 over the last quarter. 0.59% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About STAAR Surgical

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. It markets its products to health care providers, including ophthalmic surgeons, vision and surgical centers, hospitals, government facilities, and distributors, as well as products are primarily used by ophthalmologists.