Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA – Get Rating) by 18.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 405,810 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 64,087 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.85% of STAAR Surgical worth $32,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of STAAR Surgical by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,500 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $830,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 60.9% during the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 69,026 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $6,302,000 after purchasing an additional 26,136 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 7.6% during the first quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 184,710 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $14,760,000 after purchasing an additional 13,005 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of STAAR Surgical during the fourth quarter worth approximately $309,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA increased its position in shares of STAAR Surgical by 326.1% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 29,657 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,708,000 after purchasing an additional 22,697 shares in the last quarter. 89.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on STAA shares. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on STAAR Surgical from $87.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on STAAR Surgical from $165.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research boosted their price target on STAAR Surgical from $98.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on STAAR Surgical from $89.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on STAAR Surgical from $81.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.83.

STAAR Surgical Stock Up 9.4 %

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 10th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $81.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $80.12 million. STAAR Surgical had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 12.84%. The company's revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that STAAR Surgical will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at STAAR Surgical

In other news, CEO Caren L. Mason sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.49, for a total transaction of $2,012,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 83,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,808,751.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

About STAAR Surgical

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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 Visian implantable Collamer lens product family (ICLs) to treat visual disorders, such as myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and presbyopia; and Hyperopic ICL, which treats far-sightedness.

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