Staar Surgical won Food and Drug Administration clearance for its implantable nearsightedness lens on Monday, leading STAA stock to soar.
Surgeons implant the new device called Evo behind the iris and in front of a patient's natural lens. It helps correct problems seeing objects in the distance. Staar won FDA clearance for people ages 21-45 with regularly shaped eyes and those with astigmatism. Astigmatism is an imperfection in the eye.
BTIG analyst Ryan Zimmerman expects Staar to launch its new lens next month.
"We believe there are patients lined up waiting to receive the next-generation lens," he said in a report to clients. "Consistent with our upgrade thesis, we believe Staar can hit its U.S. revenue numbers with just a portion of incremental physicians (participating) this year."
On the stock market today, STAA stock surged 10.6% to 80.71.
STAA Stock: Alternative To Lasers
Staar says its Evo lens is an alternative to laser vision correction for people reliant on glasses or contact lenses. Surgeons can also remove the lens if needed.
"Over 1 million Evo lenses have already been implanted by doctors outside the U.S. and 99.4% of Evo patients in a survey have stated they would have the procedure again," Staar Chief Executive Caren Mason said in a written statement.
The company estimates there are 100 million potential candidates for the implantable lens in the U.S. BTIG's Zimmerman says STAA stock analysts don't expect much from the new lens in their 2022 outlooks.
In a recent survey, clinics expect the use of implantable lenses to grow from 5% in 2020 to 8% this year. But physician adoption is growing rapidly; up to 54% are willing to try the device this year from 28% in 2020, Zimmerman said.
"We see Staar achieving roughly $16.6 million in U.S. sales quickly if the current customer base switches over to Evo" from another implantable lens called Visian, he said. "Currently, consensus stands at roughly $20 million for Staar's U.S. sales in fiscal year 2022."
Zimmerman has a buy rating and 98 price target on STAA stock.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
