STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $23.94, but opened at $20.00. STAAR Surgical shares last traded at $20.9750, with a volume of 1,958,390 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on STAA. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Monday, October 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on STAAR Surgical from $28.00 to $30.75 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $23.42.

STAAR Surgical Trading Up 1.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of -11.49 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $25.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.38.

Insider Transactions at STAAR Surgical

In related news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. bought 797,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.86 per share, with a total value of $22,217,959.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,019,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $418,443,019.26. This represents a 5.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 1,500,000 shares of company stock worth $41,061,615. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STAAR Surgical

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STAA. Broadwood Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 8.5% in the second quarter. Broadwood Capital Inc. now owns 13,519,491 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $226,857,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064,227 shares during the last quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. grew its position in STAAR Surgical by 16.5% in the second 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 acquiring an additional 421,840 shares during the period. Yunqi Capital Ltd increased its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 3.7% during the third quarter. Yunqi Capital Ltd now owns 2,500,061 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $67,177,000 after buying an additional 88,773 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised 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 valued at $40,746,000 after buying an additional 252,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical during the third quarter valued at $48,729,000. 96.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.