STAA
STAAR Surgical Company
STAA offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH has the edge over STAA overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger modeled upside.
STAA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
STAA's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
UNH Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
UNH's cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue and profitability are stable.
STAA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 50x | $26.78 | — |
| Cheap | 82x | $0.82 | -97% |
| Fair | 132x | $1.32 | -95% |
| Expensive | 350x | $3.50 | -87% |
| Current | 2,678x | $26.78 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
STAA's PE is in its expensive range at 2678x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 50x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
UNH PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 18x | $405 | — |
| Cheap | 19x | $325 | -20% |
| Fair | 23x | $410 | +1.2% |
| Current | 23x | $405 | — |
| Expensive | 30x | $526 | +30% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
UNH has the edge over STAA in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
STAA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for STAA, with profitability holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
UNH Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect UNH's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
STAA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.54 | +5306% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.01 | +$1.96 |
| Q2 2026 | $0.08 | +$2.01 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.42 | +$1.02 |
| Q4 2025 | -$1.62 | -$1.21 |
| Q3 2025 | -$1.95 | -543% |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.93 | -668% |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.44 | -565% |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.41 | -195% |
STAA has returned to profit: it earned $0.01 per share over the past year, after losing money the year before.
UNH Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $22.65 | +29% |
| Q3 2026 | $17.55 | -8.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $15.58 | -33% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.28 | -44% |
| Q4 2025 | $13.23 | -15% |
| Q3 2025 | $19.17 | +25% |
| Q2 2025 | $23.09 | +53% |
| Q1 2025 | $23.89 | +46% |
| Q4 2024 | $15.51 | -35% |
UNH's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $17.55 over the past year, against $23.89 in early 2025.
STAA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $83.4M | -12% |
| Q2 2026 | $93.5M | +111% |
| Q1 2026 | $93.5M | +120% |
| Q4 2025 | $57.8M | +18% |
| Q3 2025 | $94.7M | +6.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $44.3M | -55% |
| Q1 2025 | $42.6M | -45% |
| Q4 2024 | $49M | -36% |
STAA's revenue is growing: $83M last quarter, down 12% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.5% | -13 points |
| Q2 2026 | 11% | +78 points |
| Q1 2026 | 8.5% | +143 points |
| Q4 2025 | -40% | +18 points |
| Q3 2025 | 20% | +13 points |
| Q2 2025 | -68% | -80 points |
| Q1 2025 | -135% | -132 points |
| Q4 2024 | -57% | -71 points |
STAA has the edge over UNH on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
UNH Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $112.7B | -0.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $112B | +0.4% |
| Q1 2026 | $111.7B | +2% |
| Q4 2025 | $113.2B | +12% |
| Q3 2025 | $113.2B | +12% |
| Q2 2025 | $111.6B | +13% |
| Q1 2025 | $109.6B | +9.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $100.8B | +6.8% |
UNH has the edge over STAA on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 5.8% | +2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 7.1% | +2.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 8.1% | -0.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 0.3% | -7.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 3.8% | -4.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 4.6% | -3.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 8.3% | +0.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 7.7% | -0.4 points |
UNH's operating margin was 5.8% last quarter, up 2 points from the same quarter a year ago.
STAA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $26.4M | +1379% |
| Q2 2026 | $19.2M | +$48.2M |
| Q1 2026 | -$22.1M | -$14.9M |
| Q4 2025 | -$5.6M | -$508K |
| Q3 2025 | $1.8M | +$4.2M |
| Q2 2025 | -$29M | -$12.4M |
| Q1 2025 | -$7.2M | -144% |
| Q4 2024 | -$5.1M | -118% |
STAA's free cash flow has turned positive after three years mostly in the red: $18M over the past year.
UNH Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.3B | -16% |
| Q2 2026 | $10.3B | +63% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.1B | +79% |
| Q4 2025 | $160M | -89% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.1B | -61% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.3B | +6.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.6B | +1037% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.5B | +$7.6B |
UNH has the edge over STAA on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
STAA Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.1% | -52K shares |
| 1 year | +1.8% | +900K shares |
| 3 years | +4.2% | +2.1M shares |
| 5 years | +3.7% | +1.9M shares |
| Available history | +9.7% | +4.6M shares |
STAA has 51M diluted shares, up 1.8% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $2M |
UNH Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.4% | -4M shares |
| 1 year | -0.7% | -6M shares |
| 3 years | -3.6% | -34M shares |
| 5 years | -5.5% | -53M shares |
| Available history | -6.6% | -64M shares |
UNH has the edge over STAA on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.4B |
| Q2 2026 | $1.6B |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $2.5B |
| Q1 2025 | $3B |
| Q4 2024 | $5B |
UNH spent $5B buying back its own shares over the past year, down 52% from the year before.
STAA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -13.9x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -6.7x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2024 | -5.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2024 | -6.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2023 | -2.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2022 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2022 | -2.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2022 | -4.2x | Net Cash |
STAA has the edge over UNH on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
UNH Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 2.2x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.4x | Healthy |
UNH's net debt is about 1.7 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as a year ago.
STAA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 57.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 69.4 | Neutral |
STAA's weekly RSI is 58 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 69 (neutral).
UNH Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 56.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 60.0 | Neutral |
UNH's weekly RSI is 56 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 60 (neutral).
STAA PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | STAA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 2,678x | 26x | 10,260% above |
| PE % | 100 | 29 | 71 pts above |
STAA is trading at 2678x earnings, a 10260% premium to the Healthcare sector's median of 26x.
UNH PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | UNH | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 23x | 26x | 11% below |
| PE % | 47 | 29 | 18 pts above |
UNH has the edge over STAA on valuation relative to its sector.
STAA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $23.1 | 16% above |
| 20 week MA | $23.9 | 12% above |
| 50 week MA | $23.7 | 13% above |
| 100 week MA | $22.8 | 18% above |
| 200 week MA | $33.3 | 19% below |
STAA has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-, 20-, 50- and 100-week averages, but 19% below its 200-week average.
UNH Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $394.2 | 2.8% above |
| 20 week MA | $400.5 | 1.2% above |
| 50 week MA | $361.2 | 12% above |
| 100 week MA | $376.0 | 7.8% above |
| 200 week MA | $446.6 | 9.3% below |
UNH has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-, 20-, 50- and 100-week averages, but 9.3% below its 200-week average.
STAA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $36.5 | $81.4 | +123% |
| 2021 | $81.4 | $96.3 | +18% |
| 2022 | $96.3 | $48.4 | -50% |
| 2023 | $48.4 | $31.2 | -36% |
| 2024 | $31.2 | $24.2 | -22% |
| 2025 | $24.2 | $23.4 | -3.6% |
| 2026 YTD | $23.4 | $26.8 | +15% |
STAA has finished four years in a row lower, and it's up 15% so far in 2026.
UNH Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $296.0 | $340.8 | +15% |
| 2021 | $340.8 | $495.4 | +45% |
| 2022 | $495.4 | $531.3 | +7.3% |
| 2023 | $531.3 | $526.5 | -0.9% |
| 2024 | $526.5 | $510.0 | -3.1% |
| 2025 | $510.0 | $331.8 | -35% |
| 2026 YTD | $331.8 | $405.1 | +22% |
UNH has the edge over STAA on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.