Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Has $1.80 Million Stake in STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA)

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC decreased its holdings in STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,352 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 762 shares during the quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s holdings in STAAR Surgical were worth $1,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 38.9% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,690 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $129,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of STAAR Surgical in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $130,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 78.3% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 5,524 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.70% of the company’s stock.

STAAR Surgical Stock Performance

NASDAQ:STAA opened at $28.56 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $31.86 and its 200-day moving average is $38.57. STAAR Surgical has a 52 week low of $26.66 and a 52 week high of $52.68. The firm has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.91 and a beta of 0.61.

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.09). STAAR Surgical had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 6.77%. The firm had revenue of $99.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $95.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that STAAR Surgical will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at STAAR Surgical

In related news, Director Arthur C. Butcher bought 1,315 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $37.99 per share, for a total transaction of $49,956.85. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $159,861.92. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on STAA. Morgan Stanley cut shares of STAAR Surgical from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $50.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of STAAR Surgical from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a research report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of STAAR Surgical from $41.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of STAAR Surgical from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.14.

STAAR Surgical Company 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.