Marshall Wace LLP Reduces Holdings in STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA)

Marshall Wace LLP lessened its stake in STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA - Free Report) by 55.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,553 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 192,023 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.31% of STAAR Surgical worth $3,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 96,769 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,351,000 after purchasing an additional 5,062 shares in the last quarter. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in STAAR Surgical during the 4th quarter valued at about $470,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in STAAR Surgical during the 4th quarter valued at about $923,000. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 179,270 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $4,354,000 after acquiring an additional 6,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in STAAR Surgical by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 202,981 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $4,930,000 after acquiring an additional 13,714 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on STAA. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Monday, April 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $17.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of STAAR Surgical from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho downgraded shares of STAAR Surgical from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $45.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of STAAR Surgical from $38.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of STAAR Surgical in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, STAAR Surgical has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.25.

STAAR Surgical Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of STAA traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $18.54. The company had a trading volume of 446,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 793,882. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $17.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.63. STAAR Surgical has a 1-year low of $13.50 and a 1-year high of $49.86. The stock has a market cap of $914.49 million, a PE ratio of -45.22 and a beta of 0.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at STAAR Surgical

In other STAAR Surgical news, major shareholder Broadwood Partners, L.P. purchased 259,616 shares of STAAR Surgical stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.96 per share, with a total value of $3,883,855.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,137,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $166,618,840.08. This represents a 2.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have acquired a total of 1,742,581 shares of company stock valued at $28,407,543 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.