StockStory flags STAAR Surgical risks, suggests digital ad stock

STAAR Surgical shares have fallen 19.9% over the past six months, a performance that trails the S&P 500's 12.8% gain during the same period. The stock currently trades at $21.50 per share.

Analysts at StockStory recommend against buying STAAR Surgical, citing flat revenue over the last two years as a sign of slowing demand. The company generated $339.6 million in revenue over the past 12 months, a figure that marks it as a small player in a healthcare sector where scale is critical. Larger competitors benefit from economies of scale, allowing them to spread fixed costs for infrastructure, technology, and administration over higher volumes. This advantage often translates into lower per-unit costs, stronger bargaining power with suppliers, and greater brand recognition.

In the regulated and resource-intensive healthcare industry, smaller firms often struggle to build customer trust without these scale advantages. StockStory notes that STAAR Surgical's return on invested capital (ROIC) has declined significantly in recent years. ROIC measures the operating profit a company generates relative to the debt and equity it has raised. The combination of low returns and declining ROIC suggests that profitable growth opportunities for STAAR Surgical are limited.

The firm points investors toward a digital advertising platform leveraging the creator economy as an alternative to STAAR Surgical.

StockStory also highlights its growth stock list, which has previously included Nvidia and Comfort Systems. Nvidia shares returned 1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025, while Comfort Systems rose 1,154% over the same timeframe. Other past list winners include Meta, CrowdStrike, and Broadcom, with returns of 315%, 314%, and 455%, respectively.