Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

ISRG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Evercore cut their price target on Intuitive Surgical from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Mizuho set a $575.00 price target on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $593.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Intuitive Surgical from $644.00 to $653.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Intuitive Surgical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Intuitive Surgical currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $617.23.

Intuitive Surgical Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:ISRG opened at $504.05 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $179.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 1.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $535.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $510.51. Intuitive Surgical has a twelve month low of $425.00 and a twelve month high of $607.35.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.26. Intuitive Surgical had a net margin of 28.38% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Intuitive Surgical will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intuitive Surgical

In related news, EVP Myriam Curet sold 421 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $494.96, for a total transaction of $208,378.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,438.64. This represents a 50.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary S. Guthart sold 24,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.10, for a total value of $12,987,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,694 shares in the company, valued at $1,958,189.40. This trade represents a 86.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 56,189 shares of company stock worth $30,785,441. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuitive Surgical

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 44 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Intuitive Surgical in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Tobam boosted its position in Intuitive Surgical by 666.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tobam now owns 46 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intuitive Surgical during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.64% of the company’s stock.

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.