Sapient Capital LLC Trims Stake in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. $ISRG

Sapient Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) by 53.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,314 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 51,663 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Intuitive Surgical were worth $19,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tobam boosted its stake in Intuitive Surgical by 666.7% during the second quarter. Tobam now owns 46 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 1248 Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Intuitive Surgical by 84.2% in the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 70 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 83.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Intuitive Surgical Price Performance

NASDAQ:ISRG opened at $577.81 on Friday. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. has a 12 month low of $425.00 and a 12 month high of $616.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.13 billion, a PE ratio of 76.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 1.68. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $555.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $507.11.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical equipment provider reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.41. Intuitive Surgical had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 28.58%.The business had revenue of $2.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will post 6.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Gary S. Guthart sold 28,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.56, for a total value of $15,769,728.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,798,904.12. This trade represents a 51.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Myriam Curet sold 7,562 shares of Intuitive Surgical stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $548.43, for a total transaction of $4,147,227.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 353 shares in the company, valued at $193,595.79. This represents a 95.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 114,007 shares of company stock valued at $63,533,844 over the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ISRG. Citigroup lowered Intuitive Surgical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $650.00 to $635.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $595.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Intuitive Surgical from $567.00 to $621.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $450.00 to $540.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $611.08.

Intuitive Surgical Company Profile

Intuitive Surgical, founded in 1995 and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, is a medical technology company focused on the design, manufacture and service of robotic-assisted surgical systems. The company is best known for its da Vinci surgical systems, which enable minimally invasive procedures by translating a surgeon’s hand movements into finer, scaled motions of small instruments inside the patient. Intuitive’s business centers on supplying hospitals and surgical centers with systems, instruments and related technologies that aim to improve precision, visualization and control in the operating room.

In addition to its core surgical platforms, Intuitive markets a portfolio of reusable and disposable instruments, accessories, and proprietary software, and provides training, servicing and clinical support to its customers.