SG Americas Securities LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA)

SG Americas Securities LLC trimmed its position in shares of STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA – Get Rating) by 19.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,952 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,705 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in STAAR Surgical were worth $490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 264.7% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 496 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in STAAR Surgical by 131.1% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 684 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in STAAR Surgical by 130.7% in the 2nd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 805 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in STAAR Surgical by 348.4% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 825 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new stake in STAAR Surgical in the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. 97.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. bought 39,090 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $47.93 per share, for a total transaction of $1,873,583.70. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 8,783,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $420,973,120.26. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on STAA shares. Sidoti raised STAAR Surgical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 7th. Mizuho started coverage on STAAR Surgical in a research report on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on STAAR Surgical in a research report on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on STAAR Surgical from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on STAAR Surgical from $110.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.80.

STAAR Surgical Stock Down 5.1 %

NASDAQ:STAA opened at $68.88 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $59.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.97. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 90.63 and a beta of 1.05. STAAR Surgical has a 52-week low of $46.35 and a 52-week high of $112.27.

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $76.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.95 million. STAAR Surgical had a return on equity of 15.13% and a net margin of 13.54%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 30.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that STAAR Surgical will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STAAR Surgical Profile

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STAAR Surgical Co engages in the development, manufacture, production, marketing, and sale of implantable lenses for the eye and delivery systems used to deliver the lenses into the eye. It specializes in refractive and cataract solutions. Its products include intraocular lens and implantable collamer lens.