Quantbot Technologies LP Makes New $278,000 Investment in STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA)

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 11,446 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $278,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,174,499 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $43,641,000 after purchasing an additional 31,212 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical in the third quarter worth about $336,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. boosted its position in STAAR Surgical by 44.3% during the third quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 168,800 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,271,000 after acquiring an additional 51,800 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in STAAR Surgical by 411.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 214,750 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,978,000 after acquiring an additional 172,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Defender Capital LLC. grew its stake in STAAR Surgical by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Defender Capital LLC. now owns 701,567 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $17,041,000 after acquiring an additional 23,950 shares in the last quarter. 96.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. acquired 8,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.50 per share, with a total value of $176,751.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 10,878,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $233,877,150.50. This represents a 0.08 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 1,074,103 shares of company stock valued at $17,900,948. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on STAA. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on STAAR Surgical from $38.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on STAAR Surgical from $28.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. BTIG Research lowered STAAR Surgical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of STAAR Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.29.

STAAR Surgical Price Performance

NASDAQ STAA opened at $17.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $877.49 million, a P/E ratio of -43.39 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.20. STAAR Surgical has a 12 month low of $13.50 and a 12 month high of $52.68.

STAAR Surgical 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.