Staar Surgical's (STAA) implantable collamer lens demand in China appears to be driven by macro affordability pressures rather than a shift in physician or patient preference toward laser-based alternatives, while US adoption remains constrained by a multi-year surgeon-training pipeline rather than a product or marketing failure, Wedbush Securities said Wednesday.
"The Collamer/EVO reputational moat was independently corroborated by all sources, which gives us confidence that STAA has a competitive advantage versus local Chinese entrants," the report said.
Wedbush said China's domestic entrant, EyeBright, represents the clearest incremental risk, as it could capture notably larger local market share over the next couple of years.
Wedbush believes Staar Surgical's dominant market position in phakic IOLs, continued growth outside of China, proprietary technology, and favorable long-term industry dynamics offer multiple paths to value creation.
Wedbush kept an outperform rating on Staar Surgical with a price target of $40.
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