STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $18.92, but opened at $17.67. STAAR Surgical shares last traded at $19.41, with a volume of 507,661 shares traded.

The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.51). STAAR Surgical had a negative net margin of 33.60% and a negative return on equity of 10.01%. The business had revenue of $57.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.54 million. STAAR Surgical’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Key Headlines Impacting STAAR Surgical

Here are the key news stories impacting STAAR Surgical this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management said it expects to return to profitability in 2026 and framed the past year as a transition toward that recovery — this forward-profitability signal has been interpreted as a catalyst for upside. STAAR Surgical Eyes 2026 Profit After Volatile Year
• Positive Sentiment: Sales growth in China and improved gross margins (cost of sales declined) support revenue recovery and margin leverage if trends continue. Strong China demand is a key growth driver cited on the call. Staar Surgical Co (STAA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Company issued a shareholder letter and the full earnings/call transcript is available for investors to evaluate management’s playbook and timing for the recovery — useful for due diligence but not market-moving by itself. STAAR Surgical Issues Shareholder Letter
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts kept a cautious stance overall (several Hold/Neutral views), reflecting short-term revenue headwinds with hopes for 2026 recovery — this produces muted catalyst potential until guidance is proven. Staar Surgical: Short-Term Revenue Headwinds and 2026 Recovery Hopes Support Neutral Hold Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results missed expectations materially — revenue $57.8M vs. consensus ~ $75M and EPS -$0.37 vs. +$0.14 expected. The company remains unprofitable at the operating and net levels, which pressured the stock after the release. Staar Surgical Q4 Earnings Release
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel cut its price target to $18 and assigned a Hold, citing the noisy Q4 results — a formal PT cut and cautious analyst commentary increase downside risk near-term. PT Lowered to $18 at Stifel

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on STAAR Surgical from $30.75 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on STAAR Surgical in a research note on Friday, January 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $13.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of STAAR Surgical from $28.00 to $30.75 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of STAAR Surgical from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $20.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STAAR Surgical news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. purchased 336,946 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.62 per share, with a total value of $7,284,772.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,356,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $332,006,167.94. The trade was a 2.24% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have bought 434,138 shares of company stock worth $9,424,176 in the last 90 days. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STAAR Surgical

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STAA. Broadwood Capital Inc. grew its stake in STAAR Surgical by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Broadwood Capital Inc. now owns 15,019,491 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $346,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500,000 shares in the last quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 16.5% in the 2nd quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,984,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $50,084,000 after purchasing an additional 421,840 shares during the period. Yunqi Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Yunqi Capital Ltd now owns 2,507,130 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,890,000 after purchasing an additional 7,069 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC grew its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 105.3% during the 4th quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 2,472,390 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,087,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268,019 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 11.6% in the second quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,421,836 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,746,000 after purchasing an additional 252,218 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.70% of the company’s stock.

STAAR Surgical Stock Up 1.6%

The company has a market cap of $956.00 million, a PE ratio of -11.79 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.88 and a 200-day moving average of $24.15.

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.