Stifel upgrades STAAR Surgical to Buy from Hold
Fintel reports that on September 29, 2026, Stifel upgraded their outlook for STAAR Surgical (NASDAQGM:STAA) (DB:SR3) from Hold to Buy. This rating action on September 29, 2026, follows a prior action by Stifel on August 17, 2026, when the firm maintained its rating of Hold.
STAAR Surgical Company, based in the United States, is a prominent entity within the medical devices sector, specifically renowned for its specialization in ophthalmic products. The company primarily focuses on the development, manufacture, and marketing of implantable lenses for the eye and delivery systems used to insert these lenses during surgical procedures. One of its key products includes the Visian ICL (Implantable Collamer Lens), which has gained significant traction for its role in refractive surgery, offering an alternative to LASIK surgery.
Prior to this rating action, the stock closed at $20.87 on September 28, 2026. This latest close of $20.87 represents a price change of +2.71% over one week, compared to a baseline close of $20.32 on September 21, 2026. Over a one-month period, the stock experienced a price change of -5.61% from a baseline close of $22.11 on August 28, 2026.
STAAR Surgical last reported earnings on August 12, 2026. The company posted an actual EPS of 0.16, compared to an estimate of 0.1623, representing an EPS surprise percent of -1.42%. Actual revenue for the quarter was $93,535,000.00, which was above the estimated revenue of $92,401,147.00.
Separately from Stifel's individual rating, the current consensus target mean for the stock was $28.46 as of September 15, 2026, which is unchanged from the prior consensus target mean of $28.46 on August 28, 2026, representing a consensus target revision percent of 0.00%. The current consensus target median is $28.05, and the current consensus target implied change percent is +36.36%.
In terms of broader analyst sentiment, the current recommendation period as of September 1, 2026, shows a total of 18 recommendations, consisting of 3 strong buy, 5 buy, 9 hold, 1 sell, and 0 strong sell recommendations. This breakdown reflects 44.4% positive, 50.0% hold, and 5.6% negative recommendations. These figures are identical to the prior recommendation period as of August 1, 2026, which also recorded 18 total recommendations with 3 strong buy, 5 buy, 9 hold, 1 sell, and 0 strong sell.
Other recent analyst activity includes a maintained action by Jefferies on September 22, 2026, which kept its rating at Buy.
Recent analyst actions
| Date | Analyst | Prior | Latest recommendation | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 29, 2026 | Stifel | Hold | Buy | upgrade |
| September 22, 2026 | Jefferies | Buy | Buy | maintained |
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This story originally appeared on Fintel.